


Red Blossoms

by RhaegarTheBard



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-18
Updated: 2017-03-13
Packaged: 2018-08-23 05:24:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 104,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8315563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RhaegarTheBard/pseuds/RhaegarTheBard
Summary: The war was lost. Naruto and company went on the run, and Naruto used his knowledge of seals to try to send some of them back in time to fix everything. Due to a miscalculation, Sakura is the only one who returns as intended. It is up to her to fix the event that lead to war's end and try not to mess up the timeline too much. Time-Travel Sakura fic.





	1. A New Beginning

You know what I don't own? A successful manga like Naruto

* * *

"Sakura! Hurry up, your breakfast is getting cold!" A voice woke her with a start. Sakura shot up out of her bed, reaching for a kunai that wasn't there, chest heaving in panic. She glanced around hurriedly, wondering where she was. The room seemed vaguely familiar, and she frowned before letting out a sigh. She went to glance out of the window and tripped when she hit the ground far too soon. She then noticed that the room she was in was built for a giant, as the window was at her chest level and the bed reached her ribs. She looked down at her hands and noticed how small and uncallused they were.

"What the fuck?" She whispered, and the door opened. She turned to see a woman she hadn't seen in years. A middle-aged woman with blonde hair was standing in the door, smiling at her with compassion and love. Sakura stared at the woman as she spoke.

"Honey, you aren't even dressed yet! You are going to be late for your first day!" The woman said again, and Sakura nodded slowly, and watched as the woman walked away. Sakura ran clumsily over to the mirror, not used to the body she was in. She stared into the mirror.

"What the fuck?" She said, significantly louder this time.

"HARUNO SAKURA! YOU WILL WATCH YOUR MOUTH WHILE UNDER MY ROOF!" A male voice yelled from the next room. Sakura 'eeped' and shook her head.

In the mirror was a young girl, with short pink hair, bright green eyes, and typical children's pajamas. Her hair was in her face, trying, in vain, to hide an abnormally large forehead. Sakura was now in her six year old body, and she didn't know why. She stared into the mirror as she lifted her hands and clenched her tiny fists. She was six once more. No war, no dead friends, no running away. No... Naruto.

Her hands shot to the Tiger seal, and she attempted to channel chakra. It came slow and sluggishly at first, as though her body wasn't used to using the energy. She fluctuated it wildly.

"Kai!" She said quietly, and nothing happened. She had somewhat expected the world to waver and to be back with what was left of her friends, fighting the war. She clenched her fist once more. If she had truly thrown into the past, then this was the perfect opportunity to change things. She smiled slightly. She could save everyone. Sakura turned to her dresser and grabbed her school clothes, the ones she remembered from so long ago.

She threw on her clothes and ran down the stairs, almost tripping down them at one point. Her mother, the blonde woman, smiled at her as she came down.

"Careful, Sakura! Wouldn't want you to get hurt on your first day!" Her mother chided, and Sakura blushed slightly. She grabbed a large plate of toast and eggs, and sat at the table, pouring a glass of orange juice. Her mother raised a brow. Sakura grinned at the woman.

"I'm a growing girl! Besides, don't shinobi use more energy than normal people? I need to eat." She spouted, and her mother grinned.

"You know, at first, I was afraid you were becoming a shinobi for the wrong reasons, but I am glad to see you are taking it seriously!" Her mother lauded. Sakura grinned and wolfed her food down. Her mother admonished her on her manners, but couldn't truly be angry. Sakura had been talking about diets and Sasuke, and suddenly she was eating copious amounts of food and talking about shinobi's need for energy.

"Sakura! What was that language I heard this morning?" A male voice asked, and Sakura turned to see her father, red-haired and jovial as ever. She smiled.

"Oh, sorry, Dad. I heard it out on the playground and couldn't find my ribbon this morning." She said sheepishly. Her father glared at her for a moment before relenting.

"Oh, very well. I'll let you off with a warning, but no more foul language in my house, young lady!" He said sternly, although a smile threatened to break out on his face. Sakura giggled and hugged her father.

"Of course, Daddy, anything for you!" She said, happy to have her parents back. She felt her heart bounce in elation. It had been years since she had seen her parents. Her father laughed and she giggled again, and finished her meal.

"Do you need me to walk you there, Sakura?" Her mother asked. Sakura shook her head.

"No, Mom. I know where it is. It'd be embarrassing to have my parents show up on the first day!" She said, a small whine in her voice. Her mother just shook her head and shooed her away. Sakura ran out the door, travelling a familiar path to an building she had not seen in years.

* * *

The Konoha Shinobi Academy, while an impressive building, was only so because it was built onto the side of the Hokage's tower. This may have been for convenience, or it may have been for an intimidation factor, to make students behave. Sakura had never been sure, but it didn't matter much now. She grinned as she watched all the students come in, most being escorted by their parents. And then, she saw him.

A little blonde boy was standing next to the tree with the swing in it, staring sadly at the parents and children. Sakura watched him sadly for a few moments before deciding to approach him. As she walked up to him, he seemed to tense up a little.

"Hiya! What are you doing over here by yourself?" She asked cheerfully. The boy looked at her with his sapphire blue eyes in awe.

"Ano... I don't... have any parents," he muttered, and Sakura nodded sadly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. You want to be friends?" She asked earnestly, pulling out every stop in her acting ability to try to seem the six year old. His eyes went wide and he began to stammer.

"Y-you want to be friends with me?" He asked, and Sakura grinned.

"Of course! You have those cute little whisker marks, I couldn't resist asking!" She said, grabbing his hand. His eyes went wider, if possible, and a slight blush appeared on his face. She almost swooned on how cute he was. "What's your name?" She asked cheerily. He smiled, and she could have sworn the sun shined behind his smile.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto," He said in his grin. Sakura nodded.

"Haruno Sakura! Nice to meet you, Naruto-kun!"

In the class, Sakura spotted the other boy she had been looking for. A raven-haired boy with onyx eyes sat in the corner, by himself. Sakura pulled Naruto behind her and walked up to him.

"Hi! Can I sit next to you?" She asked, and the boy glanced at her before shrugged and gesturing to the seat. Sakura grinned and sat down next to the boy, sitting Naruto next to her. She turned back to the boy. "My name is Haruno Sakura! What's yours?" She asked in a bubbly voice.

"Uchiha Sasuke, nice to meet you," he said quietly, and Sakura smiled. Kid Sasuke was so adorable!

"Do you want to be friends?" She asked, and he glanced at her for a few seconds before shrugging again.

"Why not?" he muttered, and Sakura inwardly did a victory fist-pump.

"This is Naruto! He 's my friend too!" She introduced, and Naruto waved shyly. Sasuke nodded to him, and Sakura knew that things were on track already.

Others began to sit and Sakura recognized all of them from her original time through, even if it had been almost ten years since she has last been in the academy. The instructor came in soon after everyone filed in, and Sakura remembered him to be the instructor before Iruka filled the position. This instructor, Akamoya, hadn't liked Naruto much, but Sakura had solutions for that.

"Welcome to the Shinobi Academy. Here, you will learn all the basics you need to be a genin level shinobi. The life of a shinobi is not easy. You will have to do things you do not want to do more often than you want, and it will push you harder than anything you can imagine. Some of you may die in the future, but I will guarantee you that, even if you do die, you will die for your village and be honored as a hero. Heck, for all we know, the next Hokage could be in this room as we speak!" The man finished his speech, and Sakura grinned as she glanced at Naruto.

 _Oh, he is._ She thought. With that, the man did an introductory part of class, in alphabetical order. Most of the introductions were simple. Who are you, what is your favorite hobby, and why did you join the academy?

"Aburame Shino. I like looking at insects. I joined the academy to follow in my father's footsteps,"

"I'm Akimichi Chouji! I like collecting potato chip bags! I joined the academy to be like my dad!"

"My name is Haruno Sakura! My hobby is learning new things! I joined the academy to protect my loved ones!" Sakura said with a passion.

"M-my name is H-hyuuga H-hinata. I l-like making m-medicine. I-I joined the a-academy b-because my f-father required i-it."

"I'm Inuzaka Kiba! I like playing with puppies! I joined the academy to kick major butt and be an awesome shinobi!"

"Nara Shikamaru. I like watching clouds and napping. I joined the academy because my mother made me."

"Uchiha Sasuke. I like training with my older brother. I joined the academy to be a shinobi like him." Sasuke was blunt and quiet as ever. Naruto stood on his desk, gathering his courage.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto! Remember it, because I'm gonna be Hokage!" He yelled, and the class laughed at his dreams, but Sakura didn't. She would support him all the way, because she couldn't think of anyone who deserved their dream more than Naruto.

"I'm Yamanaka Ino. I like doing my hair and stuff. I became a shinobi to be like my daddy."

Sakura nodded. Pretty standard introductions as per what she knew about them at this age. She was hoping to make changes to some of them early so they could reach their full potential even better. Akamoya stood and gestured outside.

"Some of you may have experience already, having shinobi for parents or being a part of a clan. Let's head outside to do an initial test of your skills." He said, and the class filed outside.

"We are going to do one on one spars, taijutsu only. Most of you can't use chakra, so jutsus aren't a factor as of yet," Sakura snorted at this. Sasuke could nearly do the fireball technique and she, herself, even with her lack luster chakra reserves, could probably pull of a clone jutsu or a henge. Most of the battles were severely one-sided, since the clan children had much more experience in shinobi arts than the regular kids. A couple of clan kids fought, such as Chouji vs Kiba, in which Chouji's larger frame had proved to be the deciding factor. Ino and Shino fought as well, although it largely was even, Shino's clans lack of taijutsu use causes his downfall.

"Haruno Sakura and Hyuuga Hinata," Sakura frowned at this. Hinata had been the dominating kunoichi for taijutsu the entirety of the academy, and while Sakura was much more experienced and knew more taijutsu than the clan heiress, she was also stuck in a small, slow body that lacked power. She didn't know if she could win this. If she remembered from last time, she had lost quickly.

Hinata attacked reluctantly at first, and it gave Sakura enough time to measure out her reflexes vs her reaction speed. She was so slow, it killed her on the inside. While Hinata did not manage to land a blow, even after she got serious, Sakura had to work for her victory.

Hinata's form was nearly perfect, each blow coming in at precise angles that did not allow for counter attack, but Sakura was experienced in these things. She saw the slight over-extension that Hinata went in as she went through her upward strike, and the second time it came around, Sakura took advantage of it. She ducked forward, barely dodging the blow, and unleashed a powerful haymaker into Hinata's cheek. She didn't want to hurt the girl, but this was the shinobi world, and she figured she could get the Hyuuga to treat it more seriously if she knew what she was in for.

Hinata stumbled back onto the ground, tears welling up in her eyes. Akamoya called the match, and Sakura smiled and walked up to HInata.

"Good match! You are very good at the Jyuken!" Sakura complimented Hinata, and the smaller girl smiled through her tears and accepted Sakura's offer to help her to her feet. Next up, though, was Naruto vs Sasuke, and Sakura knew that Naruto had been thoroughly trounced during their first battle.

Sasuke charged in, his Uchiha interceptor style showing through already, Naruto barely dodged the first punch, and sheer dumb luck caused his feet to entangle to roll underneath the follow-up kick. However, something changed in that instant. When Naruto stood, the look in his eyes was different.

Sasuke noticed as well, because he faltered through a punch, and Naruto spun around the blow with startling ease. He unleashed three strong blows into Sasuke's chest in quick succession, something that caught Sakura's attention. His style looked like Frog Kata. If Sakura wasn't sure that this Naruto was not her Naruto, she would have sworn this was the same blonde from her time period. Naruto finished up with a haymaker to the jaw of Sasuke, causing the Uchiha to slump to the ground, perfectly unconscious.

There was no doubt about it. Something of her Naruto was inside of this Naruto. Was she not the only one to come back? The stern look in Naruto's eyes broke and he looked frightened for a few moments before taking off. Sakura could only watch as he left, and she knew where he was going. She would find him later. She had to contemplate the actions of what had just happened.

As she watched Naruto leave, a piercing pain rang through her head, almost as if she had been struck. She fell to her knees, the pain intensifying by the second. It felt as though she was being struck by lightning and then run over by a horse, all pushed into a point inside her head. The pain was so all consuming that she felt her vision go dark as she sceamed involuntarily, and she knew nothing else.

* * *

 

Read, Review, all that jazz.

Next time

_"I know things, Danzo. There are other powers at work besides the other villages. You think the Kyuubi attack was caused by an Uchiha. You were right, but not one loyal to the village. He is an Uchiha thought to be dead for a long time. You don't need to know more, but just know that the Uchiha in this village are free of at least that crime." She told him, and Danzo frowned. An Uchiha thought dead? Which one?_

_"And if I don't agree to this term?" The kunoichi laughed. It was a chilling sound, not one of happiness, but it left Danzo thinking he had little other choice._

_"If you don't agree, I reveal to the Uchiha your plan. I reveal to the world the existence of ROOT. I reveal to the world that you have already stolen Uchiha Shisui's eye."_


	2. Plans Within Plans

Another chapter, my friends. I won't give you any spoilers, but this is a more important chapter.

I don't own Naruto.

* * *

Sakura's memory of the incident returned in a startling shock as she awoke. She remembered that this trip to the past was intentional, and she was definitely not the only one to return, even if she wasn't certain on who else did return. She could only hope that her worst nightmares didn't come true. She had woken up not a few seconds later, fortunately, and Naruto was just pulling out of sight when she stood, surrounded by worried classmates and Akamoya.

"Are you alright, Sakura-kun?" Akamoya asked, and Sakura just nodded, pushing his concerned hands away from her. She stood quickly, she had dealt with greater things than this before. She needed to get to Naruto.

It hadn't taken Naruto long to flee the scene, to get away from the angry fan-girls who cried out for revenge of Sasuke's brutal defeat. Sakura stood there in shock, wondered if this was a dream or not. Naruto certainly fought like the future Naruto, but acted like past Naruto. She had to find him, to get the truth from him. Sakura turned to Akamoya with a respectful bow and posed her question.

"Akamoya-sensei, may I go fetch Naruto? I can follow him fairly easily." Sakura asked, and Akamoya nodded, waving her off as he went over to attend Sasuke, who had not come to yet. Sakura thanked him quickly and took off after Naruto, channeling a small amount of chakra to her feet to catch up to him. The chakra came slow and sluggishly at first, and she cursed her untrained body. When she caught sight of him, she realized that he was faster than she thought. Naruto had always been quick. He had a natural speed that was faster than anyone in her year, even Sasuke. The others could surpass his speed with chakra enhancement, something Naruto didn't learn until he learned tree walking, but he had always been very quick, even able to outrun chunin and jounin at a young age.

But he was faster than she remembered, and it was all she could do to keep up with him until he reached his secret spot, something he had only showed her in the last year before they went on the run. The top of the Hokage monument, on the Yondiame's head. Naruto had always had an affinity for the man, even before he found out the legend was his father. She looked back and wondered how no one made the connection. The blonde hair, the blue eyes, Naruto was almost a clone of his father. She had seen pictures of his mother as well, and he seemed to have gotten his facial structure from his mother, but the rest was all Minato Namikaze.

She stopped behind Naruto, about ten feet away.

"Naruto-kun, what's wrong?" Sakura asked, knowing full well what was wrong. It was a courtesy question.

"I don't know how I did that. My first thought when Sasuke charged was that he was better than me, but then my body acted on its own." Naruto responded, and Sakura sat next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He flinched, and it made Sakura sad that he was so unused to physical contact of a non-violent kind, that he would flinch. She turned his head toward her.

"Naruto-kun, I might know the problem, but I need you to close your eyes while I check it out." Sakura said softly, trying to sooth the boy. Naruto nodded, and closed his eyes. It amazed her how quickly he trusted her, something he didn't do so easily in the future. She placed a hand on his stomach and channeled a bit of chakra. It was easy to tell that Naruto's seal had already been altered. The world went black.

* * *

She found herself in a sewer, Naruto's mindscape. She followed a path she knew well, since future Naruto had showed her the Kyuubi later in the war. She found the Kyuubi's cage, and smirked when its eyes opened, and it licked its lips.

" **You are not what you seem.** " Kyuubi said quietly. She had not expected him to be calm toward her. Naruto's descriptions of the beast in his early days always painted him to be aggressive. Sakura realized what it meant by what it said and looked down. She was in her jounin outfit, and was as tall as she was before the jaunt to the past. Nothing like she was in the current day.

 **"I sense something familiar about you. Obviously something is off about you, but it feels like you have, at least, been in contract with my chakra before. Interesting..."** The fox muttered to itself, Sakura barely catching the ending of his rambling.

"Kurama. Where is he?" Sakura asked, and Kurama's eyes widened, before it lashed against the cage that held it.

" **HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT NAME!?** " Kurama bellowed at her, more accurately portraying the picture Naruto had painted for her. Sakura stood, unimpressed. Despite the killing intent coming at her, it was nothing she had not experienced before.

"Answer the question, fox." Sakura commanded, and Kurama stilled, before grinning with that evil grin.

" **I like you, girl. He's at the end of the pipe on the right of this chamber.** " Kurama told her, and Sakura bowed respectfully.

"Thank you." She said, before rushing out and heading down the pipe the fox told her. At the end of the pipe, there was a seal, one she recognized, blocking most of the pipe. She slipped around it and found herself in a meadow, much more similar to future Naruto's mindscape. She walked further in, and saw him. "Naruto!" She called, and the man she knew from the future turned.

"Sakura-chan! You made it! I figured you would see that little display I made my younger counterpart do." He said, and she grinned, running forward and hugging the man. He smiled softly and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. She enjoyed the hug more than she would admit, and was disappointed when it ended.

"I don't understand. Why aren't you in control of the body like I am?" She asked, and Naruto sighed. Obviously there were some sort of complications.

"I didn't factor in Kurama's chakra. Since I took both myself and him in the seal, the combination of the fact that I didn't have my Kurama's chakra factored in to take over this Kurama, and the fact that his massive amount of chakra was too much for the seal, it caused me to come here to this body, but instead of making me burn the younger me out, I ended up similarly to my father and mother. I am merely chakra at this point, and I won't last long." Naruto explained, and Sakura was stricken by this.

She was prepared to do this alone, but she wanted Naruto to help her. She would miss him once he was gone.

"So what are you going to do while you are here? More displays like that?" She asked, referring to the taijutsu spar earlier. Naruto grinned at that.

"Oh no, something much better. Follow me!" He called, and she followed him to the other side of the meadow. The meadow was much smaller than his mindscape in the future, but this was not surprising seeing as the only thing keeping him here was the seal. He stopped in front of an array of seals he had made, painted on the pipe running through the meadow. Each one read something different. One of the seals said 'Taijutsu.' Another said 'Senjutsu.' There were a total of ten seals, each reading something different. One said 'Hiraishin,' which caught her attention. So these were the seals that had altered the main seal.

"What are these?"

"I am putting my chakra into these seals. They will gradually release into his brain, changing him slightly over time. I am molding him to be stronger than I ever was at this age. Over the next five years, he will become faster, smarter, and better than I was when I became a genin." Naruto explained. "I also have an emergency seal in order. If something bad happens to him, and I mean really bad, like he gets captured by Obito or something, it will release all of my memories into his subconscious. It won't burn him out like you did to your younger self, but it will allow him to understand how to take hold of Kurama's chakra."

"How long do you have left?" She asked, the foremost question on her mind. Naruto sighed, and she could tell just from the sigh that it was news she wouldn't like.

"Not long. These seals will last a while, but with the amount of chakra I had to put in each one, I won't last past the end of the week. But you can't come back here, Sakura-chan. It takes too much of my chakra to keep you here, and I need to remain to make sure there are no complications with the seals." He told her. Sakura nodded sadly, tears beginning to leak from her eyes. He was the one person she never wanted to see die, and while she wouldn't see it, she would know about it. "You always cry so easily, Sakura-chan. It was good to see you one last time." He said, and stepped forward, putting his hands on her waist. She threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips into his, the last kiss she would get from the man she loved.

The world began to fade white as they broke their embrace, and Naruto grinned before looking startled.

"Sakura-chan, I forgot! My Kurama didn't come in here with me! I don't know where he ended up! My seal isn't even on me! Look for one of the others, and hope to Kami that Tobi didn't come back with Kurama in his gut!" Naruto called as the world faded white.

* * *

Sakura opened her eyes to see young Naruto, eyes closed still. She sighed slightly and took her hand from his stomach. She brushed the tears from her eyes. Her Naruto would be dead in a week's time.

"You can open your eyes now, Naruto-kun." She told him, and he nodded, opening his eyes. She smiled softly at him and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, Naruto-kun. That was a one time thing. There was some sort of seal that opened when you were attacked. I think it was to keep you safe if you were ever attacked at an early age." She said. She could only say that with confidence because Naruto had specifically told her that the Hokage had forbid any violence against him. He had grown up hated but untouched, except for a few scuffles with kids and an occasional adult pushing him away.

Naruto nodded and smiled. "Thanks, Sakura-chan! You sure are smart!" He said, and then a thoughtful look passed his face. "And really strong. That Hinata girl was really good at taijutsu, but she didn't even touch you." He said with a grin. Sakura nodded with a soft smile and chuckled.

"You took out Sasuke, who is probably better than Hinata." She praised him. Naruto grinned and nodded.

"Well, I'm gonna be Hokage, so I gotta be stronger than everyone!" Naruto laughed, and Sakura joined in. They laughed and talked together for a while until Sakura noticed that the Academy was over. Not the best start to Naruto's education, but she would help that along with older Naruto's seals.

* * *

A black haired kunoichi, in her late teens, threw the body to the side. The man was not dead, but unconscious, from lack of oxygen. Her red-tomoe eyes traveled down the corridor, making out her destination. She continued to stalk down the corridor, making her way to the one man who she needed to address. The one who was the catalyst to everything that would go wrong. The woman smirked. She had been an Elite Jounin in the middle of a war, and while these ROOT were well trained, she was much better.

Two more ROOT came out of a corridor on a patrol, and when they looked at the spot the kunoichi was just moments ago, she was gone. They shrugged and continued on their way, patrolling the inner-complex of Danzo. The kunoichi was surprised that Danzo had resurrected ROOT so soon since the Sandiame had condemned the program. Maybe it really was just to save face, like the others had suggested. She didn't really care, it just made the man harder to approach. She deactivated the genjutsu that made her invisible, and finally made it into the main chamber. There sat Danzo, and he was waiting for her.

"I don't know who you are. You wear no hitai-ate, and I don't recognize you. And yet you have the Sharingan," Danzo pointed out, and the woman's Sharingan whirled dangerously. "Why have you come here?" Danzo asked simply. He was always straight to the point. The woman grinned.

"You may not know who I am, but I know who you are, Shimura Danzo, warhawk, leader of the supposedly disbanded ROOT program, and candidate for Sandiame Hokage. Oh, I know all about you, Danzo." She stated. Danzo just glared at the woman. She looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place the face.

"What do you want?" He repeated, and the kunoichi nodded.

"Business, right. I know of your plans for the Uchiha. I know I won't convince you to stop them. But I think I can convince you to at least allow the mother to live." She told him, and Danzo raised a brow.

"Why would I do that?" The kunoichi had taken out a throwing knife, different in shape from a kunai, and was flicking the tip of it currently. Danzo noted that she seemed to be very comfortable with the weapon, and he placed her as a weapons expert, something, while rare, was not particularly strong without a legendary weapon of some sort. The woman smiled deviously.

"Imagine this. Your plan goes through. All the Uchiha die. But wait. Itachi won't kill his younger brother, he loves him too much to do that. He tortures the poor boy and tries to make Sasuke hate him. Sasuke becomes consumed in hate and revenge. And when someone falls that far into revenge, nothing can keep them anchored to their village, loyal to their Kage. Sasuke abandons the village to the first person to offer him power. Orochimaru is looking for an Uchiha to possess, and takes the boy in."

"Years later, Sasuke comes back stronger than ever, and after learning the truth about his brother, decides that he will destroy Konoha. He goes after the one man almost wholly responsible, you. You are strong, but he has the Mangekyou Sharingan, and you are no match. If his mother survived, Sasuke would have someone to keep him here. He might still be reckless, might still be filled with revenge, but he will still have someone he loves in the village. He won't leave. And with Sasuke here, a new Uchiha clan can be bred, one loyal to Konoha. I'm sure Mitoko is probably still of child bearing age as well. So another Uchiha clan, one loyal to Konoha completely." She explained. Danzo narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Why do you care?" The kunoichi, whom Danzo assumed was an Uchiha, smirked in a startling Uchiha-like fashion.

"I know things, Danzo. There are other powers at work besides the other villages. You think the Kyuubi attack was caused by an Uchiha. You were right, but not one loyal to the village. He is an Uchiha thought to be dead for a long time. You don't need to know more, but just know that the Uchiha in this village are free of at least that crime." She told him, and Danzo frowned. An Uchiha thought dead? Which one? Was it her?

"And if I don't agree to this term?" The kunoichi laughed. It was a chilling sound, not one of happiness, but it left Danzo thinking he had little other choice.

"If you don't agree, I reveal to the Uchiha your plan. I reveal to the world the existence of ROOT. I reveal to the world that you have already stolen Uchiha Shisui's eye." She said, and Danzo's eye widened in anger before a barrage of kunai was sent toward the girl. She slipped in and out of the kunai with ease.

"I can't let you leave with knowledge like that!" Danzo said as he went through hand seals. "Fūton: Shinkūha(Wind Release: Vacuum Wave)!" Danzo exclaimed, sending a wave of razor sharp air at the kunoichi. The woman smirked and went through her own hand-seals.

"Doton: Doryūheki(Earth Release: Earth Style Wall)!" She called, and a wall of earth rose up, blocking the wind. The kunoichi noted that both of Danzo's arms were free from injury, meaning he had been faking it for a long time. His cane lay abandoned on the side of his chair, so he had been fooling the Sandiame for a long while. The woman backflipped as two ROOT descended from the ceiling, aiming to bring their swords into her neck. She shot back and a puff of smoke appeared in front of her.

The ROOT quickly pursued her, and captured her without much fight.

"Now, I will extract all the information you possess, and then I will kill you." Danzo told her, and she laughed.

"You would think so, wouldn't you? Remember my term, Danzo." She said, and then exploded. Danzo used a quick replacement technique when he recognized the clone would explode, but his two ROOT agents weren't so lucky, leaving nothing but charred bodies behind. The man narrowed his eyes. This was not over. He would find out who the woman was.

* * *

Sakura arrived at the Academy the next day looking very tired. Naruto asked her about it but she brushed it off, telling him it was a nightmare. The seating arrangement had changed a little since her first time around. In the back left row, Sasuke sat next to the window, Sakura sat in the middle, and Naruto had the aisle seat. Across from them, Shikamaru took the window seat, Chouji had the middle, munching away on potato chips, and Kiba had the aisle. The Inuzaka had not yet earned his puppy, something that only happened in their fourth year.

Hinata and Shino sat in the front, like always. Ino sat in front of Sasuke, and would often turn to talk to the Uchiha. Iruka came in, and quieted the class quickly, since they remembered his demon head technique. He began to go over a lecture about the history of Konoha, and Sakura remembered that the first couple years were spent learning the basic Academy taijutsu, discovering and controlling chakra, and classroom learning. She was going to be very bored for a while.

Fortunately, she had her training sessions after class. Every day, she planned to work on speed, reaction times, and working on both her reserves and keeping her control perfect. It had taken her close to five years from the time Naruto left with Jiraiya to perfect her fighting style, since she had added genjutsu, and learned the elemental ninjutsu she had affinities for, being earth and water, so by the time she became a genin, she would be low jounin level or higher. Eventually, she had been acknowledged as being stronger than Tsunade, a feat no other kunoichi had been able to do since the Senju had been named one of the Sannin.

Gravity-seal weights had been added to her training regiment. She had never used them in the past, but they were the fastest way to get her speed back to where it had been. A lot of obstacle courses were included in her training, sending blunt kunai at her to improve her reaction speed as she sprinted the courses, trying to improve speed and reduce errors. She planned on having Naruto help her with the courses later, to make sure she didn't get accustomed to any one course. She would also let him join if he asked. It was something he had trouble with for most of his life, asking for help. She needed to break that.

She had already mastered tree walking and water walking again, and was working on improving her chakra levels by staying on the water as long as her chakra would let her. Her chakra was responding about the same as last time, but her chakra supply seemed higher than it did before. Maybe it was her imagination, but she could have sworn that when she learned the tree walking technique, she had been exhausted after a few tries, and that had been when she was twelve. She was only six and she could climb the tree several times over. She disregarded it for now, for perhaps it was just a result of the time travel seal. She would teach Naruto these little drills as well, since his chakra control had been horrific in his past. She wanted to include Ino on the training too, since the Yamanaka had been the weakest of the Konoha 12 since their genin days, but she hadn't become friends with the girl yet.

Ino was always the object of her envy, ever since they were genin. Ino was prettier than her, had a better body, and had a team that was loyal to the death. The only thing Sakura had had over the girl was that she was a better ninja. But it didn't make her happy knowing that Ino died because she wasn't as strong as she should have been. Ino was too concerned with her looks, and Sakura was going to change that. After class ended (Sakura slept through most of it and still answered all of Akamoya's questions correctly), Sakura approached Ino. The girl scoffed at Sakura.

"Ooh, look, it's Sakura, the manliest girl in class." She said. Sakura brushed off the childish insult, remembering that they were only seven. Sakura shrugged.

"Ok, I'm the 'manliest' girl in class. But think about this, Ino. I train a lot. I'm the strongest in class. Who does Sasuke pay the most attention to? He only respects strength, and he doesn't care about a girl who can't watch his back when we become ninja." Sakura said with a smirk, and Ino, along with the other girls, faltered.

"So you're saying we should waste our good looks on becoming gross and muscular. Ha! What a joke!" One girl said, and the others quickly agreed. Ino looked more thoughtful, and Sakura knew she was smarter than the rest. The other girls left, leaving Ino and Sakura behind. Sakura went to leave when Ino stopped her.

"Sakura, wait. Can... can I train with you?" Ino asked, and Sakura nodded.

"Sure. I mean, I think you are training for the wrong reason, but another strong kunoichi might be fun. Plus, the more strong kunoichi there are, the better name we have. Most people scorn kunoichi." Sakura said, and Ino frowned.

"What do you mean, wrong reasons? Isn't that why you train, to get Sasuke's attention?" Ino asked, and Sakura shook her head.

"No way. Sasuke's a nice boy, but I'm not into boys yet," Sakura somewhat lied. While her body didn't have physical attractions to the opposite gender yet(something she was thankful for), her mind definitely still sought out male company, something she would have do without for a while. "I want to have a really successful kunoichi career, like my mom, and she told me that a strong shinobi work hard on the basics, and working hard at our age will pay off much more in the long run." Sakura explained, and Ino nodded. Her dreams had always branched off in two directions. Marrying a man who was one of the strongest in the world, or becoming a very strong kunoichi like Tsunade. Sakura beckoned Ino to follow her, and the blonde walked after her, watching the people as they walked through town toward the training grounds.

It was then that Ino noticed one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen, and nudged Sakura.

"Look at that kunoichi. What I wouldn't give to look like that when I'm older." Ino said. Sakura looked at the woman she was referring to, and noticed that it was Kurenai. She was still wearing her chunin vest, so Sakura guessed that she hadn't made Jounin as of yet. The woman had only been Jounin for a year when she took on her team, so Sakura guessed that she would make the rank around the time they were in their fourth year.

"She's a chunin. I bet you she's pretty strong, and she trains a lot. A lot of my mother's friends are retired kunoichi, and they tend to be much prettier than most of the civilian women I see. I think that training makes you prettier." Sakura wondered aloud for Ino's sake. The girl nodded in agreement, and they hurried to the training grounds to begin the training that Ino desperately needed.

* * *

There you are. Read and review for me, and I'll work to improve the way I write.

Next time

_"If you already killed Sasuke, then kill me as well. I don't want to live in this world without my children." Uchiha Mikoto, a proud and strong woman, begged him. Itachi could see the pain glimmering in her eyes, the absolute anguish. He turned to finish the job, to kill her as well, despite his orders._

_When his blade fell, it did not hit flesh like he expected. Instead, it met another blade. Itachi jumped back to see a kunoichi with black hair and red eyes glaring back him, standing over his mother with the most curious blade Itachi had ever seen in her hands._


	3. Honour and Strength

Another chapter. I've been pumping these things out.

Naruto is not my property, because I'm not Kishimoto, who has a boner for Sasuke.

Enjoy the chapter.

* * *

A body fell to the ground as the dark haired teen flicked his sword, clearing the excess blood from his blade. He was a young shinobi, not much older than fourteen, dressed in ANBU style armor without a forehead protector or a mask. His hair was tied into a pony-tail of sorts, the blackish hair falling past his shoulders. His eyes, normally onyx and dispassionate, were ablaze in red with three black tomoe swirling around his pupil, a telltale sign of the legendary kekkai genkai, the Sharingan. The lines between his eyes, along his nose, signified that this teen was Uchiha Itachi.

This was the day he feared, the day he never wanted to happen. He was here to kill his clan, to slaughter his aunts and uncles, his cousins, and his parents. Parent. He remember the special order Danzo had given him. If he didn't kill Sasuke, then he had to spare his mother as well. Itachi saw no problems with this. While his mother knew about the coup, she had tried to persuade Fugaku to stop, to consider the fact that they would only confirm the suspicions of the village elders.

Itachi walked down the street, leaving the bodies of his uncle and aunt in the street, his Sharingan blazing. Of course, he knew the man responsible for this situation was ultimately Tobi, the rogue Uchiha who had vowed to destroy Konoha and had taken on Madara's name. The Madara he had read about in the history books was a god of a shinobi, matched only by the Shodiame Hokage. Tobi was skilled, but he was no match for that giant of history. Of course, Itachi had no idea who Tobi really was, but he didn't care.

While Itachi would no longer call himself sane, he knew his purpose would carry him to his death. The sickness he carried had only just started, and while someone of Tsunade's caliber would probably be able to heal him now at the early stages, he was now a missing nin, and would be labeled an enemy of Konoha. Even if the slug princess had no love for Konoha any longer, she would not heal him, if only for old times sake. The medi-nin in the village had given him seven or eight years. He hoped Sasuke would be strong enough to kill him by then.

Other Uchiha flashed out to fight him, and he killed them before they could react. Itachi was the best, and while he knew he could not have done it if Shisui were still alive, the slaughter of the Uchiha was no real test to his strength. The Sannin could probably match him, the Sandiame in his prime could match him as well, but no other shinobi in the village was skilled enough to match him.

He finally reached his house, and inside, his father was cradling his mother, and he could see that both were prepared to die. His father looked up at him. His father was a stern man, with long hair similar to that of Itachi's, but not fashioned in a braid of any kind. His eyes were onyx, a typical Uchiha color, when not using the Sharingan. He was dressed in robes fit for a kage, and Itachi hated him for it.

"I am sorry, father. I know you understand why I do this." Itachi said quietly, and while Fugaku did not agree to the reasons, he understood them. The man nodded, and fell to the ground when Itachi's blade flashed. Itachi felt nothing as the man's blood began to pool around him. He turned to his mother. His mother still looked young, despite being in her thirties. Her hair was long as well, kept neat down her back on top of the more traditional robes of an Uchiha mother and wife. But this women could have killed him in her prime, for she had been a jounin as well, and while he knew he was more skilled, she would have had the experience if she was in shape. Her onyx eyes welled up in tears as she waited for her judgement.

"Are you going to kill me as well? Did you already kill Sasuke?" She asked, and that hurt Itachi worse than anything he had done that day. For his own mother to question his love of his little brother? That hit his heart deep. He had always loved his mother more than his father, but not enough to spare her life without orders. He turned to leave, and the foolish woman grabbed his leg. "If you already killed Sasuke, then kill me as well. I don't want to live in this world without my children." Uchiha Mikoto, a proud and strong woman, begged him. Itachi could see the pain glimmering in her eyes, the absolute anguish. He turned to finish the job, to kill her as well, despite his orders.

When his blade fell, it did not hit flesh like he expected. Instead, it met another blade. Itachi jumped back to see a kunoichi with black hair and red eyes glaring back him, standing over his mother with the most curious blade Itachi had ever seen in her hands. In fact, her eyes whirled with the Sharingan, something that Itachi found strange, as he had never seen this woman before. Mikoto was already unconscious, knocked out by what seemed to be a mild poison that the kunoichi had slipped into her with a senbon needle.

"Who are you?" Itachi asked simply. The kunoichi raised a brow, her Sharingan challenging his, instantly breaking the genjutsu he tried to place on her. She was skilled with her eyes, it seemed.

"I am no one. You are Uchiha Itachi, and your orders were to spare her." She stated, and Itachi placed her as a ROOT member at first, but no ROOT member showed even the slight emotion the woman had. She was a little older than Itachi, in her late teens, and her long black hair descended to her shoulders. She wore robes similar to that worn by the Main Hyuuga house, white and brown. It was difficult to place her origins, since the robes could be common in other places, especially among the warrior monks sometimes found across the land. Her Sharingan discounted any relation to the Hyuuga, and she possessed the Uchiha qualities that made him question if one of their shinobi had not gone rogue or had an illegitimate child somewhere.

"What is it to you?" He asked.

"I was the one who forced Danzo to give you those orders." She hissed, and Itachi sprang forward, trying to get a read on her. She was a slippery one, a woman who knew how to avoid being read, as though she had spent her life near or with someone who could read a person's motives and personality with just their eyes. Most Uchiha didn't even possess this quality. His blade clashed against hers, and Itachi's Sharingan saw the spark of chakra that leapt off the blade when they clashed. He was curious about the blade, but not so much as the woman. "That sickness of yours can be cured, you know. Not just by Tsunade. I know another medic who can help you." She told him simply. Itachi didn't care. He had nothing to live for. He would be a contact to spy on Tobi's Akatsuki for Jiraiya, and he would wait for Sasuke to kill him.

"I am already dead." He said simply as he used the shunshin, appearing behind the girl. She laughed, and Itachi found it to be both a chilling and beautiful sound, like the trumpet played at funerals.

"You are so similar to him." He heard her whisper as he brought his blade to end her life. The girl spun so fast that his Sharingan had trouble keeping up, and grabbed his blade before it could even make it a quarter way of the full journey. He saw her blood run down the blade, and her arm, and was impressed that she didn't even flinch. He saw her blade to his neck, and knew that she was stronger than he was. "I can see the curiousity in your eyes. You are needed in Akatsuki, especially in the times to come. But you need to live. With Mikoto still alive, Sasuke's loyalty to this village is sealed. You can explain why you did what you did in the future, but I need you to stay alive. You will be needed in the war to come." The woman said, and Itachi raised a brow. This kunoichi knew more than even Danzo or Jiraiya about his plans.

"Who are you?" Itachi asked again, this time the curiousity he felt leaking through his voice. She smirked and patted his cheek as she let go of his blade, before backing up.

"You can call me Honour." She said, and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Itachi eyed the place she had been, while his other hand traveled to his cheek. _What an interesting woman._

It was then that Sasuke came through the door. Blood still on his blade, their father dead, and their mother unconscious, Itachi's Mangekyou sprang to life.

* * *

Sakura's eyes widened at the news. She was not surprised to hear Itachi had killed the clan, it was something she knew she could not have stopped. However the news of two survivors was something that gave her pause. Sasuke's mother had lived as well, a mild poison aimed to knock an opponent unconscious found in her bloodstream.

Both Naruto and herself had visited the boy in the hospital, who was in a small coma from the effects of an 'unknown genjutsu,' which translated to the Tsukiyomi in her mind. She had sneaked a peak at Mikoto's charts and noted that the poison was probably the same one she had come up with back in the war, to keep patients under control if they became rowdy. So someone else had come back as well, one she had known. Only seven people had been in range of the seal when it went off, which was only designed to encompass two or three. She made it, but the seal hadn't completely grabbed Naruto, so she supposed that another two could have made it as well.

But to have the strength to face Itachi and make it out alive was something that only a few could have pulled off. She could have done it at full strength, Naruto would have obliterated the teen. Shikamaru could have done it, but she had seen no signs that he had changed from the original timeline. While Sakura could see Shikamaru hiding it, Kurenai was not someone who could hide it, or face Itachi. She was definitely not one of the ones who made it back. She could almost discount Konohamaru for his current age, and he hadn't shown any signs of changes, and Tenten due to the fact that she had seen the girl around the village with her genin team, and she seemed to have not changed. That only left... Tobi. Sakura shuddered at the thought of what Tobi could do to this world with knowledge of the future.

Then again, the Yondiame had severely injured Tobi, and the man hadn't shown his face or made any sort of moves toward the Jinchuuriki until they were fifteen, besides the time Itachi and Kisame came after Naruto right before Tsunade became Hokage. If he was one of the ones that made it back, things were worse than she could have possibly imagined.

That was the problem with the seal. Originally, it was supposed to be Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru making the journey back, since Naruto was the one with power to stop Tobi, and Sakura and Shikamaru could stop him from doing anything stupid. But everything went to hell.

-(Flashback)-

_Sakura watched the blonde man work away at the seal. In the barricaded and sealed room they were in, which about ten feet tall, and a couple dozen feet in diameter, the room was covered from wall to wall in seals. The small adjoining room, which held the rest of the survivors, had living quarters and food, but could be sealed off in a moments notice. And, to their knowledge, there was no way Tobi was going to find them here._

_Sakura put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, and he stopped his caligraphy to look up at her._

_"It's been three hours, Naruto. You need a break." She told him, and Naruto nodded slightly, before standing and stretching._

_"Thanks, Sakura-chan. I suppose I could use some food." He said, and she shook her head._

_"Oh no, you are also coming to bed. You haven't slept in two days, and if you take another soldier pill, you'll OD. Besides, I miss my blonde teddy bear." She whispered the last bit into his ear. He blushed and grinned._

_"Fine, fine. I could use some sleep soon. I'm just so close to finishing. Another hour and I'll be finished." He said, and Sakura nodded._

_"Yes, but it will be there tomorrow for you to finish. Now come have some ramen and then we'll go to bed." She told him. They jumped onto the wall, not wanting to ruin the seal on the floor, and wall-walked to the door to the living quarters. Shikamaru sat with a small child in his lap, Kurenai and Asuma's daughter, which she named Mirai, in honor of the future of the world. The situation made Sakura giggle on occasion. Shikamaru constantly complained about how everyone in his life were women, but he loved the kid like she was his own daughter. After Temari's death, he had never been the same, and threw himself into raising that kid and keeping the rest of them alive._

_Tenten sat across from him, considering a shogi board. Her hair was up in her regular buns, something she rarely did when just lounging around the living compartment. When Neji had told her he preferred her hair down, she kept it down outside of battle. He had died not four hours after telling her that, so she had taken his last wish to heart. She had utterly changed since his death, even going so far as to dye her hair. Kurenai was attending the homemade ramen she was working on. She had been heart-broken when her team had died, but had moved on for her daughter._

_Konohamaru was the last of their rag-tag group. The boy had become everything his grandfather had been. He had signed the monkey contract, and had mastered a long list ninjutsu that was as invaluable to their group as Shikamaru's planning, Sakura's medical skills, or Naruto's sheer power. He always seemed the least affected by their situation, but deep down she knew him to be heart broken. Everyone he had ever cared about, besides Naruto, was gone. He was creating a Rasengan in his hand before letting it disipate, before doing it all over again._

_Kurenai smiled at the group's fearless leader and handed him a bowl._

_"We figured you needed a treat after all the hard-work you've been putting in." She told him, and Naruto smiled tiredly at her. She handed Sakura a bowl as well, and the whole family was soon eating. Mirai was a little over two, and was munching on some carrot sticks. They were her favorite food. She was often the center of attention in their group, the last source of wonder and innocence in a broken world. She loved Shikamaru and Kurenai, but Naruto, who had always had a way with kids, was her favorite person. Kurenai always joked that she had a little crush on the blonde, leaving him embarassed. Naruto finished his food quickly, and was nearly asleep at the table. Sakura stood and escorted the blonde to their sleeping quarters._

_She got him into his sleep wear, a black t-shirt and his frog boxers. She changed as well, a long orange t-shirt and sakura blossom panties, something Naruto had picked out for her so long ago when they were still living in Konoha. The jinchuuriki was already asleep by the time she got into the bed, and she laid her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around him. The blonde's arm went instinctually around her waist, and she heard him mumble in his sleep._

_"Good night, Sakura-chan." He whispered, and she smiled._

_"Good night, Naruto." She said before drifting off._

_Her nightmares were filled with the dead faces of everyone she cared about, like they were every night. She woke in the middle of the night when Naruto sat up, and she could feel that he had been sweating. His nightmares were always worse than hers. She sat up and comforted him. As he cooled off, she heard a noise, something between a knock and a bump. Naruto looked at her, and they were out of bed and into their clothes faster than Naruto could have said 'ramen.' They were out in the living quarters in seconds flat, and noticed the rest of their group assembled as well. Naruto activated the sage mode, and his eyes widened._

_"He's outside." Naruto said, and Konohamaru was the first to curse._

_"How can he be outside? We both went over those seals and they blocked any sort of chakra from leaking out of the bunker!" Konohamaru called, and Naruto nodded._

_"This is what happened when he attacked on my birth night. There was no way around the seal barriers my father set up, but he got through them anyway." Naruto said, and Shikamaru sighed._

_"How far away are you from finishing the seal, Naruto?" The Nara asked. Naruto glanced into the sealing chamber._

_"I could finish in a half-hour." He said, and they nodded. Konohamaru punched the wall._

_"It will take him at least twenty minutes to get through our seals. The rest of us can hold him off while you finish." Konohamaru stated. There wasn't room for argument in his voice, a tone he inherited from his grandfather. Naruto nodded and immediately set to work. Konohamaru set to setting up more trap seals. Shikamaru assumed his thinking pose, surely coming up with some way to fight off Tobi and his army of Zetsu. Kurenai attended to Mirai, who was crying. Tenten spent the time putting her hair into her battle buns, as Sakura had nicknamed them. Sakura herself began to poison all the weapons they possessed. If they somehow got lucky and poisoned the bastard, he would be dead before he could even phase out._

_Tenten wouldn't let her poison her special sword. She had come up with an idea, combined with Naruto's seals, to forge a sword able to travel with Tobi when he phased. They had never finished it, but the sword was still indestructible and able to block all the Sharingan techniques from hitting her when she held it. Some of the things Naruto could do with seals were amazing. He had never figured out a seal that could replicate Kakashi's technique, but said he would work on it once they went back. Tenten and Naruto were the only ones allowed to touch the sword, according to Tenten._

_The half-hour passed quickly, and, sure enough, the door the led to ground-level opened above them and Tobi dropped in._

_"Ah, finally found you." He said. Sakura closed the door to Naruto's chambers, and the rogue Uchiha noted the seal that Naruto often used to disrupt Tobi's ability to phase through certain walls. Tobi knew he would need at least fifteen minutes pick apart that seal. "Come now, you really should just surrender Naruto to me. You'll all be happier once my plan goes down." He said, and Sakura just laughed._

_"Tobi... you say this everytime. It will never work. We'd rather die than see everyone in the world made your slaves!" Sakura said as she flung a kunai at the man. It phased through him, but the kunai had a tag on it, exploding out the far wall, opening up the cavern they had built to fight in case Tobi found them. Kurenai backed Mirai into Naruto and Sakura's quarters, and stayed there to protect her. Tobi didn't care about the girl in the other fights. His goal was Naruto. Zetsu after Zetsu flowed into the quarters, but Konohamaru cleared them fairly easily with a fire dragon technique._

_"And yet, everytime we meet, one of you dies." Tobi's phasing ability was troublesome, as normal, and despite all their plans to counter it, the ability was too versatile to counter. Eventually, they all got caught up fighting Zetsu clones, and Tobi took the time to unlock the seal. The group noticed this and blew through clones to the door. It was then that Tobi took his opportunity. WIth Kurenai distracted, he grabbed Mirai, holding the little girl by her throat._

_"MIRAI! NO!" Kurenai screamed as Shikamaru held her back. Tobi just glared at them._

_"Surrender Naruto to me or the girl dies." He commanded, and Kurenai, despite the tears streaming down her cheeks, knew there was nothing she could do for her child. She turned and fell to her knees when she heard the crack of the girl's neck. Tobi dropped the body to the floor, and phased through the group, sticking a blade into Tenten's spine as he did so. Obviously, he wasn't playing with them that time around. Sakura checked Tenten quickly, and noted that she was still alive, though her spinal cord was severed. Sakura could fix that, but it took hours to do so. She closed the wound to prevent the girl from bleeding out and dragged her into the chamber, where Naruto had dropped his sealing to keep Tobi off the rest of them._

_She could see the tears of rage on his face as he flashed in and out of view. While Tobi could prevent himself from being hit by the enraged jinchuuriki, there was nothing he could do against the relentless onslaught. Naruto appeared next to Konohamaru._

_"I need you to finish the seal, Kono." He told the boy before flashing toward Tobi. Konohamaru's eyes widened. Konohamaru was Naruto's apprentice in terms of sealing, although all of them were learning it. Konohamaru was the best besides the Jinchuuriki, but had confidence issues sometimes._

_"I can't. One thing wrong, and we all die!" He said, and Naruto simply stopped for a second, and glared at Konohamaru._

_"I trained you. You are an expert sealer. You can draw one damn seal. Now do it before I kick your ass!" Naruto commanded as he flew through Tobi, before flashing and attacking again. Konohamaru nodded and grabbed the brush, drawing the seal for 'time.' Sakura took the time to notice that Naruto was avoiding hitting the ground, and since Tobi normally just hovered in place, the seals were undamaged. Konohamaru finished the seal in less than a minute._

_"I finished, Naruto-nii!" He called, and Naruto appeared in the middle of the circle._

_"SEAL!"_

-(End Flashback)-

The seal had not been designed to designate targets. It had grabbed at least three of them randomly and thrown them back in time. She considered the possibility of Tenten. Although she hadn't appeared to have changed, Sakura theorized she could be in cover, although, like Sakura, in her untrained body, she had little chance against Itachi.

Since Sasuke was unresponsive and Mikoto was asleep still, Sakura dragged Naruto to her training grounds, where they met with Ino. Ino wasn't a fan of the boy, but now that Sakura gave him some attention, she discovered he was a fantastic friend. She wished she had tried harder to be friendly to the boy in her first time through, but then again, she didn't know what she knew now about the boy. Ino was tainted by her parents view of the boy. While they didn't hate the boy, there was a social stigma of associating with him, something they wanted to keep their daughter free of. Which was what Sakura's parents had done for her.

This Ino was more accepting though, maybe because Sakura had already opened her mind a little with her spiel about training. Sakura was going to wait for Naruto to start training with them on his own, but now that there was a possibility that Tobi made it back, she needed to train the boy to be strong as quickly as possible. Things were not looking well for her.

Sasuke returned to class in the following week, and while he was depressed, he wasn't as anti-social as she remembered. He made efforts to talk to both Sakura and Naruto. He seemed to relate to Naruto somewhat, who had no one of his own. Sakura guessed that he felt bad for the blonde boy, since the Uchiha still had his mother.

Sakura found out that when the Hokage questioned Mikoto about it, she said that she had not seen who saved her, only a blade and a prick in the back of her neck. There had been a note dropped on the old man's desk later that week that told the Hokage of Danzo's interference, and in the following weeks, Sarutobi Hiruzen showed Danzo exactly why he was one of the most feared shinobi who ever lived, though he allowed the man to continue to be his advisor, on the condition that he would never supersede any Hokage's authority again, or he would be executed.

Sakura found this comforting. Whenever she thought about the Sandiame, she always imagined an old man who was too soft with his people. It was good to see him have a backbone, something Tsunade had told her that he had possessed a lot of during the wars. She missed her mentor, but she knew she would meet the woman soon enough. Perhaps she would be able to teach Sakura her signature jutsu this time around.

Sakura, Naruto, Ino, and eventually Sasuke and even Shikamaru trained hard for the next few months. Sakura recovered most of her medical skills, her taijutsu, her genjutsu, and her superstrength. While she knew it would be years until she was back up to full strength, she was glad to know she was at least high chunin level again. Ino improved drastically. While Sakura refused to teach the girl anything she didn't know in the original timeline, simply because she wanted Ino to become her own kunoichi, she did improve Ino's speed, reaction times, and taijutsu. Ino went to her father in short order because she was tired of Sakura being better than her, and it was then that Sakura found irony in the fact that Ino still saw her as a rival.

Sakura began to notice small differences between this time and her original time. She had more chakra. Her father was a bit more serious than he used to be. Naruto seemed to be emotionally damaged, more than he had been before. She suspected that he had been assaulted as a child, as sad as it seemed. He never spoke about his pre-Academy days in this timeline, so she wondered if something really bad had happened. She would need to talk to the Sandiame or Kakashi about it when she could trust them with her secrets. Another small difference in this timeline was that she seemed to have special chakra. She didn't know what it did or how to use it, but during the kunoichi classes they were required to take, the flowers that she tended always ended up livelier and brighter than anyone else. Ino joked about a green thumb, but Sakura could only wonder about how her chakra affected plants like that.

Sakura taught Naruto the shadow clone technique. She also told him not to do the jutsu in public until he could get someone who was actually allowed to know the jutsu to 'teach him.' She made him promise, and, like her own timeline's Naruto, he was very good at keeping promises. She then taught him about the benefits of the shadow clones, and he became very strong very fast. While his style was still developing from the seals his future self had left, he was faster, stronger, and had better reflexes than he had when he became a genin, some four and a half years from the end of the training time.

Sasuke, under his mother's guidance, started kenjutsu, much earlier than he did the first time around. He improved his control, his speed, and his taijutsu. He and Naruto were about on par, though Sasuke normally won spar because he knew how to rile Naruto up. Sakura always had to give something to psychological warfare. It surprised Sakura to see that, while revenge was on the front of his mind, he was still friendlier and more open than he had ever been in her timeline.

As for Shikamaru, Sakura truly wondered why he would join training. He was lazy, as lazy as they came, and while she was pretty sure he wasn't future Shikamaru, something changed him. His excuse didn't fly with her either.

"My mom said that if I didn't pass near the top of class, she was going to make me do all the house cleaning until I moved out. I decided it was less troublesome to put the effort in now." He said. While this would probably fly with anyone else, Sakura still had her doubts, but didn't bring them up. Maybe he had recieved the partial transfer like Naruto, but it hit his personality more than his conscious thought.

Shikamaru was always smart, and once he put his mind to it, he blew Sakura out of the water in academics, something Sakura found annoying. He was the fourth best in class in this timeline for skill, behind Sasuke and Naruto, and, like Ino, he went to his father for more training. Sakura was top of the class in skill, and was attributed to be a genius. Iruka was already slating her to be rookie of the year when they graduated. Both Naruto and Sasuke saw her as their ultimate rival, even if they were more immediate rivals. Sakura was fine with that, though. They needed a benchmark to want to reach, and even with her advantages of already knowing her skills, both of them would eventually become more powerful than her. But she would not let them leave her behind.

Not this time.

* * *

Another done.

Please read and review. The more feedback I get, the better my writing style will get.

And I do prefer constructive criticism over flames.

Next time

_Hiruzen had also clipped off a bit of the civilian council's power, and Danzo, while furious at the loss of his own power, was glad to see his old friend finally acting like a Hokage should again, though it wasn't enough. Danzo had plans for the Hokage, plans that would be a couple years to go through, and if the 'God of Shinobi' could not see it coming, then all the better._


	4. Plots and Weapons

Naruto isn't mine blahblahblah.

SUNDAYs are update days for a while. As I get further along, I might implement monthly rather than weekly updates.

-RB-

Sakura was standing in front of the Hokage. In the original timeline, being ten and standing in front of the Hokage would have terrified her, but she was made of sterner stuff, and was standing silently as the old man considered her.

"Haruno Sakura, age ten, both parents are shinobi. Number one in the Academy, pseudo-sensei to four other children of similar age. Also possesses a number of skills that a girl of age ten should not know. Tell me, Sakura-chan, how do you know these things?" He asked, and Sakura was still cursing herself for her own stupidity. She had forgotten about the Sandiame's crystal ball, the one he used to view the village remotely. He had spied in on one of her singular training sessions and had seen her doing an earth wall and using Tsunade's super strength. While she might have been able to explain the strength, the earth wall was a technique a civilian Academy student had no way to get their hands on, and even being able to perform the technique was disturbing. She was fortunate he had not seen her using the shadow clone technique, or she would really be out of luck.

"Hokage-sama, I'm afraid I don't know what you mean?" She asked, and the Sandiame rubbed his temples. She knew to play dumb as much as possible, and to play the innocent girl act as long as possible as well.

Sakura had changed in the past three years. She was fitter than she had ever been until she had come under Tsunade's training, and her hair was short, like she had kept it after the Forest of Death. Her outfit was similar to the one she wore when Naruto returned to his training trip with Jiraiya. She had later added a chunin vest and more pouches for weapons, but these weren't present on her current outfit. The red shirt, black shorts, shinobi sandals, and red ribbon in place of her hitai-ate holding her hair out of her face were the same as they had been in the future, though.

"Sakura-chan, I saw you using two techniques both out of your ability to learn and out of an Academy students ability to use." He said to her. "The Doton: Doryūheki... how did you even come across such a move? To be able to use elemental techniques at your age... and the super strength is a technique originating from my student, Senju Tsunade of the Sannin. She had been absent from the village since before you were born. How did you learn this technique?" He asked. Sakura frowned slightly, looking thoughtful as she tried to come up with a lie to tell the old man.

Sakura was nearing her old strength. Her taijutsu was about where it had been when she used the seal, her speed and strength were a little below but nothing she couldn't fix by the time she graduated. Genjutsu was just as it had been, just as her iryojutsu was, though her elemental jutsu still took far too much of her still meager chakra supply to use consistently. Even right before the seal, she had never had the chakra to use jutsu after jutsu like Naruto and Konohamaru could, though her chakra supply was definitely higher than it had been when she was a genin the first time around. She would have put herself at a low jounin level but for the fact that her body wasn't developed enough.

"The strength is something I imitated from Tsunade-sama. I heard about her strength, and then went looking for Jiraiya-sama when he came back in town next. I asked him how she did it, and I guess he saw no harm in telling a little girl how her role-model was that strong. After he told me that it had to do with precise bursts of chakra, I knew I could do it, since my chakra control has always been very good. I started practicing a couple of years ago, and I finally got it down not too long ago, Hokage-sama." She said, and Sarutobi stared at the little girl. If what she was saying was true, she was truly a genius, probably the best kunoichi Konoha would ever produce. It had taken Tsunade years to develop the technique, and with just hearing how it worked, this girl had been able to work it out on her own.

"That still does not explain the earth technique, Sakura-chan." He said softly, and Sakura frowned. Neither of her parents were earth elementals, so that ruled out that option. She knew a few jounin who could use earth techniques, but how could she explain that she knew jounin? Especially since none of the jounin in question knew her at the current time. Sakura sighed.

"I stole a scroll from the shinobi shop when my mother had taken me to get some real kunai. I had previously stolen the paper to test a shinobi's elemental affinity, and I had gotten earth. So I stole a beginner's scroll to earth jutsu, and that technique was on there, Hokage-sama. It has taken me a long time to learn those ones." She said, and the Sandiame glared down at her, trying to make her feel ashamed. She pretended to look embarrassed with herself, staring at the ground, and the old kage finally abandoned his stern look.

"Stealing, especially from one's own village, is never encouraged, Sakura-chan. I'm going to write your mother and request that you work to pay off the shop that you stole from. While I will commend you for being so advanced for your age, I will not allow my shinobi to steal from my village, do you understand?" He asked, and she nodded meekly before he smiled gently at her. "You may go, and don't let it happen again." He said, and she scampered out of the room in a hurry. The old man sighed, rubbing his temples, wondering if he should retire or not.

Sakura had later stolen the letter the Hokage had sent home, and trashed it, burying the remains under the house with a minor earth technique.

-RB -

Danzo sat in his seat, considering his position. He still had ROOT, and while he had to be more careful with their missions, they were still working for the good of Konoha. However, his real power had been near stripped from him. He no longer had any say in matters with normal shinobi, except as advisor to the Hokage, and every shinobi chunin and above knew it. He was no longer invited to the council meetings, though he could still work through the civilian council and his old friends Homura and Koharu.

Hiruzen had also clipped off a bit of the civilian council's power, and Danzo, while furious at the loss of his own power, was glad to see his old friend finally acting like a Hokage should again, though it wasn't enough. Danzo had plans for the Hokage, plans that would be a couple years to go through, and if the 'God of Shinobi' could not see it coming, then all the better.

-RB-

A sword flashed by as a blonde boy leaped to the side, anxious to dodge the deadly blade. He glared at his opponent, the wielder of the sword, a dark haired boy with onyx eyes and his own glare shooting back at the blonde. The blonde cursed his luck at not being able to engage his opponent in taijutsu, which was one of his stronger points. If he tried heavier strikes, the boy would use his sword as shield, and the blonde valued having his arms and legs attached. If he struck with lighter, quicker blows, he would not do enough damage to end the fight. If he tried to grapple, well, the bruise on his shoulder from his opponent slamming the hilt of his blade on his shoulder blade pulsed painfully to remind him the results of that attempt.

He backed up some more, and threw out a barrage of kunai, but the dark haired boy was too swift, too clever to fall to a simple attack such as that. He ducked the kunai and charged the blonde, aiming his blade at the blonde's neck. A flash of red went through the blonde's normally sapphire blue eyes as he suddenly appeared under the dark haired boy, slamming a fist, full strength, into his stomach. The onyx eyed boy coughed and was sent flying back, ten feet at least. Not the strength of a normal ten year old.

"Alright, that's enough. Naruto, you can't continue to resort to that chakra." Sakura said, and Naruto turned, angry at the match.

"I can't compete with that damn blade of his! I don't have any ranged jutsu yet, since I just started on my element, and I have no real weapon to clash against his. He has the advantage at the short range, which is the only place I can really do damage, especially since I can't use the shadow clones." Naruto complained, and Sasuke stood slowly, the damage from the punch weighing heavy on him. Naruto was stronger than him, he knew that. But it was only because of that chakra. He could beat Naruto easy, at close and long range with his sword and his fire jutsu respectively, but as soon as the blonde used his special chakra, Sasuke was overmatched every time. It was infuriating, especially knowing that Naruto was limited on his choice of jutsu, since Sakura had forbidden him of using shadow clones at all since she had been talked to by the Hokage last week.

Shikamaru shrugged uncertainly at the result.

"Naruto, if you want a weapon so bad, go to the shop and look at some. I can't see you using a sword, so try to find something as unpredictable as you are." Naruto frowned at that. "Troublesome blonde." Shikamaru added, and Ino smacked him on the head.

"What's that supposed to mean? Don't lump me together with him!" She said, and Shikamaru walked away, muttering something about blondes again, causing Sakura to giggle. She turned to Naruto.

"Listen, I'll take you to the shop if you want. I've been saving up my allowances for a while, and I think I owe you for three birthdays now." She said. She had known his birthday, but it would have been odd to get him something without him telling her about it. She had recieved three gifts from her four friends already, one for each year. Her technical eighth birthday had yielded few gifts worth mentioning. Sasuke had given her the set of gloves she currently used when using her strength. They were steel-plated and very light, but could protect her from the heaviest of blows. His mother had found them after hearing about her strength. They had belonged to another Uchiha kunoichi who had specialized in taijutsu.

Shikamaru's gift had been more selfish, as the boy had admitted himself. She had received a shogi set, and he had taught her how to play immediately. They played at least a game a week, sometimes more. He said he wanted an opponent who could challenge him while not defeating him every time like his father. They had a small rivalry going with shogi. Shikamaru was ahead 51 to 35, though Sakura was on a three win streak. She had been terrible at first, but she had gotten much better in time, and had even introduced Naruto and Sasuke to the game. Ino had no interest in the game, and Sasuke would only play occasionally when the mood took him, but Naruto liked the game. He was unpredictable, and while he had only beaten Shikamaru on their first game, he liked playing against the genius, throwing out tactics the Nara had never seen before. Shikamaru enjoyed playing against the blonde as much as he liked playing against Sakura, but the blonde didn't have the patience to play as often as she did.

Her ninth birthday was better, at least in her eyes. Ino had given her the ribbon she wore to keep the hair out of her eyes. The ribbon had a lot of sentimental value to her, considering she had eventually put her forehead protector on cloth of the same color when she became chunin. Naruto had gotten her an elbow protector with a sakura blossom inlaid beautifully on it. She asked how he had gotten it, and he had told her that he was quite a good tailor, seeing as he had to repair his clothes on a regular basis. Sasuke, not to be outdone by his rival, got her a short sword, similar to his own. It had been his brother's before he defected, something he had left behind. Sakura had never been one for blades, but it had a lot of value to Sasuke, so she learned to use it with the boy and his mother.

Mikoto was an interesting woman, kind and loving in the home, but a cold and unforgiving teacher, much like Tsunade had been when she had trained Sakura. The girl liked Sasuke's mother, and knew that this was how it should have been the first time around. The woman had a habit of teasing the two of them by telling them how cute their children would be. Sakura always felt awkward whenever she said that, because she had always had feelings for Sasuke, at least, the Sasuke she knew before Orochimaru entered the picture, and this was the same Sasuke but happier and more open. On the other hand, while Naruto was a slob and not even close to dating material, she knew he was a diamond in the rough, and to see him with anyone, even Hinata, would break her heart, since she was sure she had loved her Naruto more than she had even thought she had loved Sasuke. But this Naruto was not the same person.

Ino's gift had been a senbon launcher that her mother had owned when she had been a shinobi. Ino told her that it wasn't her style, something that made Sakura happier than the gift itself, because it wasn't her style either. Ino was coming into her own. While not the powerhouses that the future Team Seven was, she was cunning, and had no sense of fair fight. She did whatever she had to to win, and Sakura often thought of Anko, who's bare body often distracted men in fights, leaving them open for her. She hoped Ino wouldn't take it to that degree, but was glad the girl was becoming a strong kunoichi. Ino's skills in illusions were haunting, especially combined with her family's style, and Mikoto had commented that even a normal Uchiha would probably be defeated by the girl's illusions in the future. Sakura had a talent for the art, but Ino was a _genius._ Sakura wondered why the girl never tried genjutsu the first time through.

Shikamaru had developed much like he had before, though he had made an effort to learn elemental techniques this time around. Water was his affinity, something that seemed to match well with the way shadows moved. His taijutsu was strong, probably low chunin level, and his control had always been good. Since Sasuke and Naruto had naturally higher chakra stores than the other three, they had to work harder to increase their own.

Now Sakura's tenth birthday had not been long ago, and it had been strange. The boy's were starting puberty, and they seemed to begin noticing the two girls. Naruto was focused solely on Sakura, like he had been in the original timeline. He asked her to eat often and had given her one of the few precious things he had possessed as a kid, his wallet Gama-chan. She had asked him about it, and he said he had gotten a wallet from the Hokage with the Yondiame's likeness on it, so he would use that.

Sasuke was torn between Sakura, who showed interest in no one at the time, and Ino, who was showering the Uchiha with attention on a regular basis. While he disliked the constant praise for every day things, he was attracted to the way she could manipulate a battlefield, any situation against her could suddenly change to her favor (Sakura noted that his attraction to women had always been based on whether or not they would be strong mothers). His attraction to Sakura was more obvious, being the only person who could crush Naruto and Sasuke, even when they fought together.

Shikamaru was lazy as usual, but Sakura noted the way he watched Ino, and sometimes she thought she would see a tinge of sadness in his eyes, but had decided she imagined it, because it was gone as fast as it appeared. Sakura grew more and more wary of the Nara boy, unsure if he really was one of the returnees or not. Sometimes, he acted like young Shikamaru, wanting to do nothing but watch the clouds and play shogi. But sometimes, he trained harder than any of them and when he sparred, he was as smart and deadly with his tactics as the Shikamaru she knew. She wondered if the seal had perhaps fused the two somehow instead burning the younger personality out like Sakura had.

Sasuke had given Sakura an Uchiha fan, ornamental, to carry when she was in a kimono. The edges of the fan were tipped in silver and sharpened to a blade, for protection at formal occasions. Mikoto had likened it to a marriage proposal, which had caused Sakura to stress over to actually carry the fan or not. She had compromised by hanging it on her wall. The other gifts were thoughtful, but not worth mentioning.

She still had yet to figure out who had defeated Itachi on the night of the massacre, but decided that the next time something important happened, which wasn't until the chunin exams, the mysterious person would make an appearence again.

Naruto grinned at her offer, probably seeing the trip to the weapon's store as a sort of date.

"You know, this will only be the second gift anyone but the Hokage has given me!" Naruto said, and Sakura was slightly saddened by that. Deciding Naruto needed a nice gift, she grabbed the blonde by the hand and dragged him to the shinobi shop, bidding her friends farewell. Ino turned to Sasuke.

"None of us have gotten him anything, have we?" She asked, and both the Uchiha and the Nara shook their heads. They had to decide on gifts for the blonde.

-RB-

Naruto was staring at a pair of bracer-gloves. Each had a blade hidden in them, about six inches in length, with a special pressure pad on the glove itself so that when the user flexed his ring finger, they popped out. It was a toggle trigger, so another flex would cause them to become hidden again. The sign said the blades were chakra conductive, something that was probably perfect for Naruto's wind type. Sakura wasn't looking at the weapons. She was staring at the price-tag. These things were expensive, like, a jounin's pay for a year would hardly be able to pay for them. Sakura didn't have the money, but they came with a installment plan that would allow to pay them off over ten years. While she was normally frugal and disliked wasting money, she decided that Naruto deserved something like that.

"Excuse me, I-" Sakura began as she began to address the shopkeeper. She stopped when she noticed Tenten standing behind her father, spinning a kunai and smiling innocently at the blonde boy at her back. Sakura had considered Tenten as a returnee, and this was her chance to watch the girl and see if she was the Tenten that Sakura had known. "I'd like to buy the gloves my friend is looking at over there." She said, and the man, Tenten's father, eyed her for a moment before erupting in laughter.

"I like the joke, little one, but I doubt you have the money for one payment." He snorted. Little one was right. The man was a giant, closer to seven feet than six and probably weighing three or four times Sakura's weight when she was a teenager. It was all muscle, and he was a hulking man who's booming voice had shaken the kunai on the wall. Sakura never knew Tenten's father personally, just had purchased her shinobi tools from him in the past, but she remembered him always being strong enough to heft a giant war hammer that was bigger than Samehada with one hand. She knew he had never been a ninja, but even a blacksmith didn't have muscles like that, so she often wondered what he had done before he was a blacksmith.

"I have enough for two years' payments." She said, and the man's eyes widened when Sakura dumped the bag of money she was carrying onto his counter. He carefully counted each bill, but it did come up to the first two years' payments.

"How did a little girl like you get this much money? You rob a bank or something?" He asked, and Sakura giggled.

"No, mister. I have been doing medical calls for the wealthy for the past two years." She said. Her parents took most of the income and put it into a trust fund for her, but she was able to save enough money for this. People tended to over-pay her since they enjoyed having an adorable little girl heal them instead some old doctor.

"You, a medic?" He asked, and Sakura felt an eyebrow raise. She simply stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "Very well, very well. Take them. I'll have them fitted for you shortly." He said, busting out a measuring tape. She shook her head.

"Not for me, for him." She said, gesturing to Naruto. Tenten's eyes widened at that.

"Is he your boyfriend or something?" The twin bunned girl blurted out. Naruto blushed at that, but Sakura simply smiled.

"No. He's my best friend, and I found out I owed him three years of birthday gifts. I say those cover it nicely." She retorted, and Naruto was grinning ear to ear. The man laughed again and beckoned the blonde over.

"Come here, boy. Let me measure you so I can make them your size. Just come back when they start getting tight, and I'll adjust them for free." The man boomed as he measured Naruto's arms. Ten minutes later, Naruto walked out of the store with his new gloves.

"Thank you, mister. May I have your name?" Sakura asked politely, bowing respectfully. The man waved her bow away and smiled.

"None of that. I'm no lord. My name is Takeshi. Higurashi Takeshi." He said. Sakura watched the kunai rattle from his voice. He reached down and plucked his daughter up with one hand, and put her on his shoulder. Tenten squealed the whole way up.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. It was nice to meet you, Takeshi-san!" She said, and left. Takeshi looked out the window with Tenten on his shoulder.

"That girl is dangerous. Watch out for her in the future."

-RB-

End of the fourth one. Two more and I'll finish the Academy arc, and get into the real action.

This one seems kind of filler to me, but it's mostly for the time-passage that is needed to get to the genin years. The Danzo stuff is important, though.

Sakura may seem strong, but she really didn't have far to go to get to her shippuden level, and my Sakura was far stronger than that. Naruto and Sasuke have much more potential for raw power it seems.

There will be no relationships until shippuden era.

Any guesses on who Honour is? I'll give a shout out if you guess right!

Read and review and whatnot.

Next time

_"Hello, I was walking past and I heard a voice that was both beautiful and haunting, and I couldn't help but stop to inquire who was singing." Itachi lied, his face hidden underneath his straw hat. The woman turned slowly and moved toward him. Itachi suddenly knew something was wrong with the picture. She was still at kneeling height, but moving fluidly, more fluidly than even a shinobi could move. She was smiling confusedly at him as she rounded the corner where he could finally see her in full._

_Itachi was stunned. It wasn't possible. He didn't even hide his face as his shock became apparent to anyone watching him._

_The woman, the one who could have sworn was Honour, was bound to a wheelchair._


	5. Assassins and Kings

Chapter five. Some major stuff going down in this chapter, so pay attention! It will also be LONG.

I do not own Naruto. I never have, and I never will, unfortunately.

-RB-

Itachi was not the sort of person to normally get obsessed with anything, but the mystery kunoichi, Honour, who had stopped him from killing his mother had been at the front of his mind since he had left Konoha. Itachi was also not used to looking for answers and not finding them. He had been sent on a mission by the leader of Akatsuki, a mysterious man named Pein, who possessed the legendary kekkai genkai, the Rinnegan. While he was the face, Tobi was obviously the brains.

The mission had been to track down a few missing nin to gather the bounty on them for funding. Akatsuki's mission might have been noble once, but it had been twisted by tragedy and hate. It was when he came to that realization that he realized that, had he succeeded in killing his mother, he would have left Sasuke worse off than dead, bound to live a life in the circle of revenge. Itachi wondered if the woman he had fought knew the future, but shook the thought from his head. Such a thing was impossible.

He eyed the last part of the trail he had been able to follow. It was a small village, some miles outside of Konoha. The trail had led into the village but he had lost any sort of ability to keep track of her. She was skilled, this kunoichi. The ability to avoid being tracked by the Sharingan was something that very few possessed, and this kunoichi had managed to throw off her trail in a tiny village like this, almost as though it were intentional. However, Itachi knew one thing. This kunoichi definitely had her base of operations in this village, because he had found traces of chakra no regular peasant would possess.

He decided to ask around, perhaps to get a better idea if the people knew of anyone like her, if they had seen her. Unlikely, but not impossible. The village was called Karak.

The village was a tiny thing, probably only three or four dozen people living in the town. Another fifty or so probably lived in the outskirts, farmers who came into the center of the village to barter their goods for supplies. The small houses could have fit inside his house in the Uchiha district three or four times, and the stores were so cramped that even someone of Itachi's composure was uncomfortable inside.

Itachi started with the mayor.

"Excuse me, good sir. Have you seen anything strange in the area lately? An increase in shinobi activity, for instance?" Itachi asked the mayor. The man was old, probably older than Sarutobi himself, and walked with a cane to hold his hunched back up. Three of his four sons had become merchants in Konoha, but the oldest had remained in the town to take care of the family farm. His grandchildren were also merchants and farmers. The old man tugged at his long, white beard as he thought, obviously trying to remember any strange happenings lately.

"No, young man, I can't say I have heard any reports of strange happenings, and I haven't seen anything personally." He told the Uchiha. Itachi coughed, turning away from the man, though his disease was not contagious. He frowned at the information. It was impossible for anyone to remain unnoticed in a community for long, and it was several years after he had met her. All evidence pointed to this village, and nothing suggested she had moved here recently. In fact, the evidence told him that she had been here a fair while. Itachi tried a different approach.

"Has someone recently moved to this village? In the last three or four years?" Itachi asked in a low voice. The old man nodded slowly, thumping his cane ground.

"Yes. A young woman moved into a house on the edge of town. No one knows anything about her, but the village folk all love her. She is kind to the children and helps the villagers as much as possible." The old man told him. Itachi nodded. This was the information he had been looking for.

"Can you describe what she looks like?" The desperation in Itachi's voice even surprised him.

"A young woman, probably just into her early twenties. Long black hair, dark, onyx eyes, a very pretty but somewhat haunting voice when she sings. She is very pretty, if I do say so myself. She reminds me of my late wife." The mayor's eyes glazed over, obviously lost in some memory. Itachi smirked, the closest thing that could related to a grin to the Uchiha.

"Thank you very much, sir. You have my gratitude. Can you do me one more favor and point me to her house?" Itachi asked, his Sharingan blazing. It was the only reason the old man had been so helpful in the first place. The elder man nodded and pointed with his free hand to the north of the village. Itachi thanked him again and walked in the direction quickly, ready to confront the woman.

When he arrived the house, he was wondering how he had missed it. It was a newer house, built after the ones in the center of the village, but not in the last few years. There was the unmistakable scent of flowers permeating the area, lilac and some flower Itachi could not decipher. He approached the house, and saw tiny indents in the roof, signs of a shinobi landing on it multiple times. The house was near the tree line, so it would make sense for her to translate from tree jumping to the roof. This was obviously it, the place where he would find the woman who had been haunting his thoughts.

He knocked softly on the door, the Akatsuki cloak no where in sight, though the straw hat remained, serving as protection from being identified and scaring his prey away. He heard a voice singing a few rooms away, and it was so familiar that he knew it to be her. After another minute of listening to her sing, he knocked a little louder this time.

"It is unlocked!" She called from a room near the back of the house. He opened the door softly and followed the hauntingly beautiful sound of the woman's voice to a green room of sorts, filled to the brim with flowers and vegetables. The woman was behind some tall plants, snipping busily at a flower that he couldn't see. She seemed to be kneeling, so Itachi knocked on the door once more. The woman turned her head, seeing his straw hat.

"Hello, I was walking past and I heard a beautiful voice, and I couldn't help but stop to inquire who was singing." Itachi lied, his face hidden underneath his straw hat. The woman turned slowly and moved toward him. Itachi suddenly knew something was wrong with the picture. She was still at kneeling height, but moving fluidly, more fluidly than even a shinobi could move with. She was smiling confusedly at him as she rounded the corner where he could finally see her in full.

Itachi was stunned. It wasn't possible. He didn't even hide his face as his shock became apparent to anyone watching him.

The woman, the one who could have sworn was Honour, was bound to a wheelchair.

-RB-

For a long time, Shimura Danzo had remained content as the left hand of Sarutobi Hiruzen. The left hand, because the right hand was known for the being the public champion in a kingdom's pyramid, while the left hand was the one that played in shadow, ready to slip the dagger into the tender backs of the kingdom's enemies. Not honorable, for sure, but necessary.

And what was a hidden village but a sort of kingdom? Surely the Hokage counted as at least a duke, if not a king, pledged to an emperor but more concerned with the safety of his kingdom than the security of an empire. Surely, Hi no Kuni was very important. It provided Konohagakure with food, funds, and materials that were required to run a military force like the shinobi. Sure, the Daimyo had his own army of ashigaru and samurai, but a team of shinobi could take an army of ashigaru down and come out with no wounds.

However, Danzo was no longer content in being the left hand. Sarutobi had grown weak, in body and in will. The will of fire, while a nice thought, was something that Danzo did not have faith in. A shinobi had no use for emotions. A shinobi needed to be cold, emotionless, a killing machine used for little else. The fact that ROOT had a better success rate than ANBU, although with higher casualties, was proof that his theory worked better than Hiruzen's.

And while Danzo had tolerated this weakness in his long time friend, the fact that he had allowed a civilian council to gather power in a military city, and had destroyed any power Danzo had possessed for doing what was necessary, had left the ROOT commander with little faith left in his old friend. It was time for a change. And Danzo had such change in mind with his plans.

It had taken a long while to set up. The terrible tragedy of the Hokage's secretary, allowing Danzo to place his own agent there. The time and effort it took to convince Homura and Koharu to side with him. The infiltration of his own ROOT into ANBU, getting them to be regular guards of the one time 'God of Shinobi.' It was all a long, drawn out game of shogi, though Danzo had the advantage that his opponent didn't know he was playing.

Would he regret his decision? Never. Would he miss his old friend? Forever. But Danzo loved his village more than anything else, so this change was necessary. Danzo smirked as he moved his proverbial piece, and waited for his opponent's move.

_Checkmate._

-RB-

Sakura wondered why the village was so tense of late. Nothing happened this year in her memory that was of much importance. It was the last year of the Academy, and Sakura had seen giant improvement from her friends in comparison from their original skills. Sakura herself had recovered almost all of her skills now. Her chakra capacities were equal to what they were when she was sixteen, and she would have placed herself just below Kakashi's level now, in terms of ability. Once she improved her chakra more and recovered her last ability, one she couldn't learn until well into her teen years because the strain on her system, she would be back to Kage strength, not that it had mattered much against Tobi.

Ino was probably mid-chunin, and she honestly hoped that the teams would be a little different than they originally had been. If Ino was put under Kurenai, she would truly flourish. What was lacking for the Yamanaka was her battle sense, something Sakura couldn't train into her. Her chakra capacities were decent for a chunin level, her control was phenomenal, and her speed was average for a genin. Once Ino got a good taijutsu instructor, she would truly become a threat.

Shikamaru was hard to judge. A times, he was easily low jounin level, simply from his intelligence. Other times, he seemed hardly chunin level. His speed and taijutsu were decent, probably low-chunin level, while his elemental jutsu had entered chunin level. He knew several water jutsu, ones Sakura had taught him herself, having a water affinity herself. Overall, without his intellect, he was probably mid chunin, but with it, he was high chunin to low jounin.

Sasuke had come into his own with his blade. He could fight his mother, who had been a kenjutsu master in her day, for a full twenty minutes. She could outlast him, which was why he lost, but he was very good. His elemental jutsu hadn't come up much, mostly he had simply learned how to channel lightning chakra through his weapons. His speed was the same it had been in the chunin exam finals, fast, but unable to hold it for long. His taijutsu was about the same, and his fire jutsu had improved somewhat, leaving him probably mid-chunin until he unlocked his Sharingan. Of the five, he was one of two to change his outfit. The blue shirt and white shorts he had worn the first time around were not present, leaving him dressed in a long, white shirt that fell open, revealing a black, Uchiha crest undershirt. He wore black shinobi pants that ended at his shins. He wore a black sheath to his sword, which was strapped to his hip like it had been in the original timeline. His outfit was too close to his outfit when he joined Orochimaru to be comforting to Sakura.

Naruto had truly surprised her. He had never been much for weapons the first time through, though he hadn't really been a powerhouse until he had learned senjutsu. His skill with his hidden blades were quite the sight. The blonde boy could strike a target while at a high speed run while blindfolded and hit the dummy in a lethal spot every time. His speed was decent, lower than Sasuke's but he was able to hold it a lot longer. His elemental chakra had led him to do amazing things with his blades and kunai, but he had yet to learn any jutsu. His outfit had changed a lot. He wore black shinobi pants, that opened up at his shins, and black shinobi sandals instead of blue. He wore a long, black jacket that ended at his knees, similar to his father's but without the flames or the high collar. Under the jacket, he wore a black shirt with an orange Uzumaki swirl in the middle. He still wore the goggles, but he said it was only to replace the hitai-ate for now.

But the truly frightening thing about Naruto was that he could probably beat Sakura if he tapped into Kurama's chakra, although he'd have to go at least one tail. While he hadn't mastered the chakra yet, he was never out of control like he had been during the original timeline. With the increase to speed, strength, control, and instincts, Naruto was probably stronger than Kakashi, though his lack of range and his weakness to genjutsu made him fall prey to Shikamaru and Ino on a regular basis.

She remembered when Naruto had met Kurama. It was not something she had walked him into, but something that happened on his own. She wondered if it had been the seal his future self had left regarding the demon fox that had allowed him to approach the fox earlier than he would have.

She wondered if any of the five would end up like they had originally with their fighting style. Ino had improved, and Shikamaru probably had too. Naruto was taking a vastly different path, and the one time she had allowed him to use shadow clones in a fight, he had only created a total of four, though with deadly prowess. The seals his future self had put in him had done wonders for the blonde in terms of fighting ability and tactics. Sasuke was on the right path, but she hoped he would never awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan.

There was an odd dread hanging over the village. The villagers were withdrawn, able to sense the heavy fog of anxiety. Something was going to happen soon, and Sakura had no idea what.

-RB-

"Can I help you?" The woman said, and Itachi blinked. He closed his mouth and swallowed to wet his dry throat. She was very pretty, with long black hair that settled just past her shoulders and dark, onyx eyes that stared up at him, a mixture of confusion and awe in her eyes. Itachi recognized the onyx eyes as the base Uchiha color. She had a pretty face for sure, one that was sporting a slight blush. She was wearing a flowered kimono, light blue with purple and red flowers on it. It was odd that he could read her like a book, and came to the conclusion that this could not be the same woman.

"No, you just remind me of someone I know. Do you have a twin or something? A kunoichi twin, perhaps?" He asked, and the woman shook her head, confusion even more evident in her eyes now.

"No, sir. I am an only child, my father was a smith before he died, and my mother died in childbirth." She told him. He wondered if that was true. Perhaps she was covering for the kunoichi he had met. He decided that he needed to stake the area out, make sure the woman didn't leave. While there wasn't a true time limit on the mission Pein had set him on, he was sure his presence would be missed soon enough.

"I see. I am sorry to hear about your loss. You see, I met this kunoichi in my travels, and while her face was masked, her hair, voice and eyes were very similar to your own. I thought perhaps, when I heard the voice singing, that you were that kunoichi." He told her, and the woman smiled kindly, before giggling ever so slightly.

"It sounds like a love story in the making." She told him, and Itachi raised an eyebrow. Love, the type between a man and a woman, was not something that had ever interested him much. He had never looked at the women and girls and thought that they were anything more than another citizen of Konoha. His father had tried to set him with many girls, daughters of high ranking members of other clans, powerful merchants' daughters, strong kunoichi who would give Itachi strong children. He had never found interest in any of them. His mother told him after one day 'It's because you never got to be child. You know duty and nothing else.'

The interest he was showing in the mysterious kunoichi was the most he had ever shown in any woman before. He mentally shook his head of the thoughts. She was strong, stronger than him, and he wanted her help to protect Konoha. He thought that, perhaps, they could work together to keep his village safe. Though he would not tell this woman that, though. The story he had told did have the beginnings of the romance novels his mother had once read.

"It does have similarities to a romance story." He agreed. "Well, I apologize for bothering you, miss. I must be going. I have many miles to my destination." The woman smiled and glanced out the glass of the greenroom.

"Oh, my. It is quite late. Perhaps you should stay, rest for the night, and leave with the sun's rising." She suggested, and Itachi nodded. It made sense to a normal traveller. She did not know he was a shinobi, and shinobi thrived in the dark.

"That sounds like a good plan. I will look for accommodations in town." Itachi told her. She shook her head, rolling closer and taking his hand with hers.

"No, you won't find anything in the village. I offer you the spare bedroom of my house." Her eyes pleaded for him to stay, and Itachi nodded slightly, agreeing before he even thought about it. Why would he do that? This woman's kindness was so genuine and heartfelt that he couldn't refuse.

"I thank you then, miss."

"My name is Hibena. Mitsurugi Hibena." She told him, and Itachi nodded once more.

"Thank you then, Mitsurugi-san."

"Oh, no, I much prefer it if you call me Hibena, sir." She told him, and he noticed his hand was still cupped in both of hers. He pulled his hand free and nodded.

"Thank you, Hibena-san. My name is... Obito. Yoshimitsu Obito." He introduced himself, bowing slightly. She smiled kindly.

"I will wake you in the morning, Obito-san, and you can have breakfast with me before you leave." Her voice, filled with kindness, was light and high, one expected of a woman. It was a pleasant sound, like the light cluttering of wind chimes on a summer day.

"Again, thank you, Hibena-san. I am weary from travel, so if you could so kind as to show me my quarters, I will turn in for the night." He asked, and Hibena nodded, immediately rolling past him and out of the room. Itachi followed, and found the house to cozy. It had a small kitchen, a bathroom, a small area for the dining room, and two bedrooms. The greenhouse looked to be a recent addition.

"Thank you once more, Hibena-san. Goodnight." Itachi told her.

"No problem. Have sweet dreams, Obito-san." She told him, the kind smile still on her face. It was a soft smile, showing no teeth. Itachi nodded and turned into the room. He would get rest, he needed it anyway, and then leave before dawn. Itachi put his hat away to the side, and undid the braid that held his hair into the loose pony-tail it had been in. He laid down on the bed, surprised on how comfortable it was. Or maybe he was just tired, he couldn't tell. He was always tired, the sickness he had been diagnosed with made sure of that. It started with slowed recovery of stamina, followed by fatigue in all muscles, which slowly turned into pain in the lungs. He would eventually start coughing blood, the last stage of his sickness.

Itachi had a restless night, not having been able to get much sleep since he had killed his clan. The nightmares were terrible, and left Itachi lying in bed, staring at the ceiling as he waited for morning to come. His lack of sleep was something he was used to.

At one point, Itachi heard a sound coming from the kitchen. He went to the door to listen, tense in case some hunter nin had found him. It sounded like boiling water, and he heard a soft gasp, along with a couple of sobs. He realized that Hibena was crying. Itachi felt as though he were intruding on a private moment, and moved away from the door. He wondered if she was crying about her father, the one she said had died. If he ever saw her again, he would ask her about it.

When Itachi woke in the morning, it was already dawn. Hibena had already knocked on the door, and Itachi realized he had gone through the night with no nightmares, after he had seen Hibena crying. He put his hair back into his customary pony-tail and sat down across from Hibena, who had just put eggs on the table.

"Good morning, Obito-san." She greeted him.

"Good morning. This looks very good, Hibena-san." He praised her food. Hibena blushed slightly and smiled.

"Thank you. People sometimes wonder how I go through my life in a wheel chair, but it isn't too different from walking, it seems." Hibena told him, and Itachi nodded. He had been wondering the very same thing. They ate in relative silence, and Itachi did the dishes like a courteous guest. Hibena excused herself to the green room, and after Itachi finished the dishes, he could hear her singing.

" _Home is behind_

_The world ahead_

_And there are many paths to tread_

_Through shadow, to the edge of night_

_Until the stars are all alight_

_Mist and shadow_

_Cloud and shade_

_All shall fade_

_All shall..._

_Fade...*"_ Hibena's last note flowed out of her mouth, and Itachi was actually moved by the song. It had been haunting and beautiful, the sadness reaching out to his very soul. He stepped into the green room.

"That was beautiful, Hibena-san." He said softly. She turned and blushed, obviously not used to having an audience.

"Thank you, Obito-san. My father had me take singing lessons when I was younger, and I loved it." She told him. Itachi found himself entranced at her voice.

"I wanted to ask last night, but how did you end up in a wheel chair?" He asked, and she looked away, her eyes distant in memory.

"I was born with a severed spine, something that happened when my mother had fallen due to her weak legs. I've been in a wheel chair my entire life." She said, and Itachi nodded.

"That is most unfortunate. I too was born with a defect. I have a non-transferable disease that will eventually eat away at my lungs until I die. I will probably only live another four years." Itachi told her, sympathizing for things happening beyond her control. The Uchiha had been beyond his control. This sickness was not from his birth, however, although he had no idea how he could have contracted it.

"That is sad, Obito-san. Do you have a family of your own? Parents, siblings... spouse, children?" She asked, the same blush returning.

"I am only just seventeen, Hibena-san. Too young, I think, for a wife or children. I would never get married anyway, unless my disease magically disappeared. As for other family... I have a brother, and a mother. The rest of my family died in a tragic way I would rather not repeat." Itachi looked away, somewhat ashamed about how his family died. He had truly tried to reason with them.

"I'm sorry, Obito-san. Do you see your mother and brother often?" Her hands were busy clipping at a plant that Itachi could not identify.

"No, I will probably only see them once or twice more before I die." He confessed. He didn't see any harm in telling her these harmless details. Itachi had spoken more in the last twelve hours than he had in the last few weeks, and this woman, who was about as intriguing to him as the mystery kunoichi.

"That is sad." Her hands had stopped clipping and she was looking at Itachi. He noticed that she was very attractive, something he hadn't paid much attention to yesterday. He had noted that she was pretty, but this time it was something more along the lines of something a man might feel for a woman, and it frightened him. He needed to leave.

"I suppose I must take my leave, Hibena-san. If I come this way again, though, I will make sure to visit you. You have been a very kind host." Itachi told her as he placed the straw hat on his head and turned toward the door.

"It was nice meeting you, Obito-san. I would like to see you again someday." He heard as he left the front door. He had to put distance between himself and this place. He could not afford to be attached to anyone.

As he walked, Itachi thought back to the song he had heard. He had meant to ask what it meant, but he had forgotten. It was replaying in his head over and over, and he knew he would never be rid of it until he asked the meaning of the song. But still, he couldn't go back, it would seem strange for him to reappear an hour after he left with the question. He traveled into night, the song running through his head over and over. He pictured her singing it, her voice sending shivers down his spine.

He decided to stop for the day sometime after dark, and climbed into a tree to sleep. He set up a few traps quickly and closed his eyes.

Dreams were something Itachi was not used to. He was used to nightmares, the dead faces of his family coming to take him in the night. His brother catching on fire and dying. It was those kind of dreams that Itachi had an unfortunate familiarity with. No, this dream was different than those.

_Itachi was sitting in a greenhouse, clipping at plants to keep them from growing to large, but left enough for it to live and produce it's fruit. He heard a voice, and turned, seeing Hibena, or was it Honour, standing there in the doorway, no wheelchair in sight. Her hair was recently brushed, and she was wearing a white and red kimono with the Uchiha symbol on it. Her red, Sharingan eyes watched him with a peaceful smile playing across her lips. Itachi smiled and stood, putting the clippers down._

_"Sing for me." Itachi said in his dream. She opened her mouth, and the notes that came out of her mouth made Itachi happy. He didn't hear much of the song, just the tune. She walked over and cupped his chin. When she finished the song, she leaned in, her eyes closed. Itachi closed his eyes and waited for the kiss, and his last dream thought was of how he had gotten here, and how his life was better with her in it._

-RB-

The Sandiame Hokage was smoking on his pipe, reading a certain orange book as he took a break from his paperwork. He rarely had a chance to read anymore, since the Uchiha incident. The amount of paperwork filing in was greater and greater, and Hiruzen was convinced it was a plot of some sort, to keep him busy while the council and the elders run the show. He couldn't ignore the paperwork, for it was important, but he was still keeping an eye on the key suspects in the conspiracy as much as possible. He now only had five ANBU he knew that could trust one hundred percent, and three were watching people.

He had one watching Danzo. While he would have admitted with enough pressure that he had not truly crushed the ROOT program, Sarutobi had turned a blind eye to it because it was necessary. He had trusted Danzo in the past, and he knew him as another shinobi who had wanted the position of Sandiame Hokage. They had fought side by side in the second war together. But Danzo had done things recently that left him untrustworthy. The Uchiha incident was one such things, and he knew Danzo's hands had been in the Hyuuga Incident half a dozen years ago as well, but he couldn't prove it. He knew taking away Danzo's pull in the council would make him angry, and he wasn't sure how far the old war-hawk would go for 'the good of Konoha.'

The others he was having watched were his teammates, Homura and Kotaru. Both he would normally trust, but he had a suspicion that they were working with Danzo, since they tended to agree with most of the war-hawk's views about certain matters. He knew that had given consent to Danzo's solution to the Uchiha problem, but he had no proof of it. His only solution was to have them watched as well. None of them had done anything overly suspicious since he had started having them watched.

There was a knock on his door, and Hiruzen stowed the book away in his desk and put out his pipe. He opened the window to let the smoke out and sat down, looking like a kage should.

"Enter." The door opened, and there stood Danzo, looking frail as he ever had. Hiruzen put on a smile. "Danzo, please come in. I will have some tea sent up to us immediately." He said to his old friend. Danzo nodded as he took a seat across from the Hokage. Hiruzen pressed a button on the intercom button on his desk. "Mitsuki, can I get a pot of tea and two cups to my office, please?"

"Right away, Hokage-sama." He let go of the button, and turned back to Danzo.

"So what can I do for you, Danzo?" Hiruzen asked. Danzo still had a grim look on his face, and Hiruzen was fairly certain he hadn't seen the man smile since the second war. Danzo activated the privacy seals, a motion that made Hiruzen tense.

"Hiruzen, I am here to talk to you about a couple of things. First, I thought I would inform you that, a couple of years ago, a mysterious kunoichi wandered into my home, and began to demand things about situations that she should have had no knowledge about. This was a few weeks before the Uchiha incident, and she told me that my plan wouldn't work. She demanded that I make sure Itachi kept Mikoto alive, to 'ensure Sasuke's loyalty.' She knew too much. How could she had gotten this information, Hiruzen?" Danzo asked. Hiruzen raised a brow. He knew there had to have been a reason for Mikoto's survival, and now he knew.

"I don't know how she could have gotten that information. I didn't know of your plan until the night it happened, if you don't recall. Did this kunoichi have anything that told you were she was from?" He asked, and Danzo simply shook his head.

"No. She had no hitai-ate, and the only jutsu she used that gave a clue about her origins was that she used the Kage Bunshin. She had black hair, and had the _Sharingan,_ but I know she had never been a shinobi of Konoha, and she was too young to have been a part of my ROOT program. She was a little older than Itachi." Hiruzen stroked his chin in thought and then heard a knock. He released the privacy seal.

"Enter." Mitsuki walked in, holding a tray with a china tea pot with two china cups. He smiled at her. "Ah, thank you, Mitsuki. Just place them on my desk." Mitsuki nodded and placed the pot with the two cups on the desk.

"Do you need anything else, Hokage-sama?" She asked. Hiruzen shook his head.

"No, thank you, Mitsuki. You can return to work." She bowed and left, and Hiruzen reactivated the privacy seal. "This is troubling. Perhaps there is a mole in the system somewhere, and is leaking information to the kunoichi. She seems to be an Uchiha, or at least descended from one, since we haven't had any eye thefts since the 2nd war. She doesn't seem to be a missing nin from your tale, but neither is she from a village. A wild shinobi, perhaps?" Wild shinobi were shinobi who were raised and trained outside a village, and never pledged their allegiance to any village. Mostly, they took the same kind of jobs missing nin took, or became bounty hunters.

"That's a possibility, but if she is, then why does she care about what happens in Konoha? It doesn't make sense." Hiruzen agreed to that point. The mystery kunoichi was a puzzle, but it seemed to him that he owed her one, so he was not in any hurry to bother her.

"And the second thing you wanted to speak of?" Hiruzen said, pouring the tea for both of them.

"Hiruzen, let's be honest. We are both getting old. I know it, you know it, and the other villages know it. Your reputation can only help you for so long. You need to think about picking a successor." Danzo told him, and Hiruzen sighed. He knew he was getting old, but another shinobi of his own or Minato's quality had not yet shown their face. He could not leave the village in the hands of someone not able to protect it. While he would have allowed Jiraiya or Tsunade to succeed him, neither was willing.

"I know this, Danzo. I am only waiting for another Kage level shinobi to show their face, one that is concerned more about the village than themselves, and can lead this village as well as our past Hokage. I will not retire until such a shinobi reveals themselves." Hiruzen said, watching as they each took a cup.

"A decade ago, I had suggested you train one, and the only one you wanted to take under your wing was the Kyuubi boy, something that had been revoked by the _council._ " Danzo spat the word out. "You could take one under your wing now, but now it might be too late." Danzo said, and Hiruzen had to agree with him again. Perhaps he should have taken someone else. Itachi would have been perfect, if he was to be honest with himself, and it would have quelled the Uchiha discontent. It was then that he noticed Danzo still holding his cup.

 _Odd. Normally Danzo downs the first cup._ Hiruzen thought, but shrugged it off. Maybe Danzo was bothered by this kunoichi.

"Well, Danzo, perhaps you are right. I could take one of these genin from the upcoming class, and train them up to be Kage level in a hurry, but it takes more than strength to lead a village. You know that." Sarutobi told him, and Danzo nodded his agreement.

"You're right. Here, cheers to Konoha, and hopeful a new Kage candidate shows up soon." Danzo told him, clinking his with Hiruzen's. They both brought the cups to their lips, and it was then that Hiruzen knew something was wrong. As he went to swallow, he noticed Danzo was not swallowing. At all. He quickly spit his tea out, but he knew enough of the poison had gotten in his system. "You were always too kind and trusting for your own good, Hiruzen. It is time we had a Hokage that will not allow some stinking council to over rule the word of the leader of a militaristic village." Danzo said as put his cup down, which was still full.

Hiruzen fell out of his seat, the poison acting quickly. He reached up, with what little strength he had left, and activated the emergency alert seal, the only seal that broadcasted through the privacy seals. Four ANBU showed up at once, two of them being of the ones he could trust.

"If I die, I will make sure you never become Hokage, you bastard." Hiruzen choked out. "ANBU, terminate Shimura Danzo for attempting to assassinate me." He said, and the ANBU sprang into action. His two loyal toward Danzo, the other two toward his two loyal. The two loyal noticed, and a battle began to take place in his office, while he slowly died of poison. The two loyal shinobi managed to kill the traitorous ANBU in a few seconds, and turned to face Danzo. But something happened to the old man. He had been turned young, and he ripped off his robe, revealing an arm of Uchiha eyes embedded into his arm while he was in his full battle gear. One of the eyes was closed.

"So sure, are you?" He responded, and, in an instant, his loyal ANBU were dead. Danzo had always been strong, and now that he was young again, he was even stronger than Hiruzen's students. Sarutobi coughed blood. Danzo, young somehow. He knew it had to do with that closed Sharingan eye on his arm, and now that he was young again, he could become Hokage.

"You won't get away with this, Danzo." He choked out, feeling the life leave him. The man looked down at him in a mix of pity and sadness, something that should have made Hiruzen angry, yet he had no anger in him, only pain and sadness for what would happen to the village. _Konohamaru... Asuma... Naruto... you must right this wrong._

"I already have."

-(end)-

Song Lyrics: The Edge of Night -Billy Boyd

So Izanagi allows the user to turn illusion to reality. What's stopping Danzo from turning himself young by making it an illusion and then using Izanagi to make it real? That was the idea behind the end there.

Don't get mad because Hiruzen is dead. Honestly, I'm surprised Danzo didn't do it in the manga. Sarutobi was too kind and too lenient to be a military leader. Danzo will get what is coming to him eventually.

This was originally going to be the end of the first arc, but I decided to change that slightly. Things are about to get vastly different because of the mystery kunoichi.

Itachi might seem out of character in this chapter, but there are two reasons for that. One, Itachi has already been affected in personality by sparing his mother and the meeting with a certain badass kunoichi. Two, we never knew much about Itachi during those years between the Uchiha incident and when he made his first appearance(I don't count filler in the anime). While he was always quiet, I assume that he wasn't quite as anti-social as everyone thinks, at least not until he spent a copious amount of time in the presence of mass murders and psychopaths.

Next time

_Sakura ducked under a kunai, charging a ROOT agent and slamming her into the wall, breaking her neck. She spotted Kakashi down the hall, fighting three off at once while Itachi was fighting Danzo with some kunoichi that seemed familiar. Sakura went through some handseals and cleared the hallway toward the council room where Danzo was with a Water Dragon Jutsu. Running down the hall, she slid to a stop inside the council room._

_The kunoichi seemed familiar. Sakura felt as though she should have recognized her, and that was when a hand hit her in the neck from behind, knocking her out._


	6. Crows and Copy Wheels

Here is the end of Arc 1, the Academy Arc. From here, the knowledge of the future that Sakura possesses will be radically less helpful.

I put this out early because my muse has not been a fickle bitch recently so I have been writing consistently. Lucky you!

I don't own Naruto.

-RB-

Itachi stiffened out of the best sleep he had had in years when a presence set off one of his traps. He shot to his feet, a kunai in his hand in an instant. It was still dark out, but the Sharingan revealed everything, something he had come to activate habitually. He heard nothing, but was ever alert. Anyone who set off his traps and didn't get hit was skilled enough for him not to take the fight lightly. He turned when he heard a feminine cough.

"Itachi." Honour said, her Sharingan eyes hard as ever. Itachi narrowed his eyes, wondering how she had found him. The night of the Uchiha incident had been fairly obvious, but this time, less so.

"I didn't expect to find you here." Itachi stated truthfully. Honour snorted and adjusted the grip on her strange katana.

"I wouldn't be much of a kunoichi if I was predictable. I saw you staying the night at Hibena's house. If you hurt her, I will end you." She stated simply. Itachi nodded, he had figured there was some sort of connection between the two. Perhaps Hibena was a clone or a twin. "I have serious news." Itachi's eyes widened slightly at that.

"Is it Sasuke, is he alright?" Honour stared at him impassively.

"The Sandiame Hokage is dead." Itachi couldn't keep the surprise off of his face. That was not something he had expected. The Sandiame had always seemed immortal to the Uchiha prodigy, and to hear of his death both saddened and angered him. The man had been the best hope the village had, he was good for the village despite his faults, and he had been always kind and friendly to Itachi, even after others had begun to become suspicious of him. Honour's eyes were hidden by the shadows, but Itachi imagined sadness and anger also coming from her, even if to make himself feel better.

"How?" He asked, surprised at the crack in his voice. He knew better than to let his emotion show.

"Assassinated. Poisoned by Shimura Danzo." Itachi's rage was barely contained at that point. The man had gone too far now. The deaths of the Uchiha clan were neccesary, but killing the Sandiame was overboard. "He used some kinjutsu to turn himself young once more. I doubt even I could take him single-handedly. I'll need your help, and I need you to stay calm, Itachi." Itachi actually laughed at that, a soft, mocking chuckle. His composure was legendary. Honour's brow furrowed at the laugh but otherwise her reactions were as impossible to read as ever.

"Don't worry about me. I am known for my composure."

-RB-

Danzo was looking over the selection for this year's genin teams. He knew that he couldn't simply change the entire village how he wanted it instantly. There would be too much resistance, perhaps enough to even push the shinobi to rebel against him. He wasn't stupid, he knew that his rule was already unpopular due to the suspicious way Sarutobi had died. Officially, he had been poisoned by Orochimaru, but many Jounin didn't quite believe that, especially without any true proof.

As he glanced at Sarutobi's suggestions for the main three teams, he scoffed. Sarutobi was too soft and worried about shaking things up. He was going to keep Ino-Shika-Cho a team for this generation, and the Hyuuga heiress would have been wasted on a tracking team. His only good choice of team was the frontline team consisting of the Uchiha, the jinchuuriki, and the Rookie of the year, the daughter of Haruno Mebuki, a talented retired chunin who had been forced out of active duty due to her pregnancy and some complication that had come along with it. Sarutobi had been keeping a special eye on the Haruno girl, but Danzo couldn't figure out why.

Switching up the teams was neccessary. If the Nara was half of what his father was, he would be best suited on a team that he could actually use his brain to win battles with. He switched it around, putting the Nara with the Yamanaka and the Hyuuga. If the Hyuuga became strong, then her skill combined with her ability to feed the Nara info and the Yamanaka's apparent prodigious talent in genjutsu would allow the Nara to absolutely own the battlefield. In order to cultivate the talents of the Yamanaka and keep the Hyuuga girl content, he would put them with Yuhi Kurenai.

The Akimichi, Inuzaka, and Aburame would make a strong frontline tracking team. The Akimichi could function as a distraction and a damage soak, especially since he showed talent in Earth ninjutsu. With that distraction, the Inuzaka could dish out major damage and the Aburame could provide ranged support. Sarutobi had liked specialized teams, but Danzo thought that having an answer for more situations was more important.

The sheer talent that the Academy had reported on the Haruno girl was astounding. Had she been an orphan, Danzo would have recruited her in an instant. The girl was near Jounin strength already. Sarutobi had outlawed early graduations after Itachi, but Danzo knew that the girl would have been the next Itachi, at least in skill level, had she been allowed to flourish at a younger age. He had already repealed that law. He had considered stealing her for ROOT anyway, but the Haruno clan had far too much political clout to allow him to steal the heir from under their noses. Although reports from the Academy also spoke of her unique chakra and how it affected the plants she worked with in the kunoichi classes, and Danzo couldn't help but wonder if this was the rebirth of a powerful bloodline.

The only thing he wasn't content with currently, other than the mysterious kunoichi who knew his plans, was the owner of the listening seal that had been fused into the complicated sealing matrix that made up the Hokage's office. He couldn't remove it without collapsing the whole matrix, and there wasn't anyone alive, except perhaps the owner of the seal, who could remake it. It had been created by the Shodiame's wife, Mito Uzumaki. It had been improved upon by the Yondiame's wife, Kushina Uzumaki. Her son had not shown the same talents with fuinjutsu as she had, so that left no one who could remake it.

He was forced to watch what he said in the office, and hoped no one had been listening in on his assassination of the Sandiame.

-RB-

Sakura's first reaction was take Naruto and Sasuke, and get the hell out of Konoha. With Danzo as Hokage, he was liable to put Sasuke in the CRP, or the Clan Revival Program, where he would be forced to impregnate a dozen women in order to bring the bloodline back to life. Mikoto would probably be forced into the program as well, forced to bear children until her child-bearing days were over.

Naruto was likely to be put into ROOT, something she had learned that Danzo had originally wanted to happen. Imagining Naruto in ROOT was like imagining a sober Tsunade or a good Orochimaru, it wasn't a possibility to her. Naruto was already stronger now than when he had been returning from his trip with Jiraiya. Danzo would recognize how strong he had become and then she would be in danger as well, for Danzo was not likely to fall for her deception as well as the Sandiame.

Officially, Danzo was not Hokage yet, but with the death of the Sandiame, via 'poisoning by Orochimaru,' and his new, younger self, he had convinced the Daimyo to appoint him Hokage. It would be several weeks until Danzo was officially Hokage, but during that time, he still was the highest ranking shinobi in the force, and thus had command of the village.

Already changes had begun to show. The Academy had been radically changed. They were to teach elemental ninjutsu in the classrooms, and each student was to make a kill before he or she graduated. This kill could be a dog, or a squirrel, but they had to kill something. Each student, in addition to the basic Academy three, had to demonstrate an elemental jutsu and the ability to break from a genjutsu. She felt glad for Rock Lee, who had graduated not four months ago.

Sakura knew that Danzo had been the cause of the Sandiame's death. A strategically placed listening seal that would have been hard to detect and impossible to destroy had been placed in the Hokage's office after Sarutobi had called her in, so she would knew if she was caught again. He would be avenged, she had vowed, but first she needed to figure things out. With this turn of events, the future as she knew it was gone. There may have been parts of it that would be useful, but largely her memory of events in the history books was now obsolete. While this was not a good thing, she had already prepared over half of the soon-to-be genin for almost any circumstance. She had a feeling that, together, Team Seven could take even Orochimaru. Of course, she hadn't seen how the other two would react in battle, but once they had some experience with KI, or killing intent, she was sure they would be able to take the snake, especially if he showed up in the chunin exams again.

Sakura kneeled on the Hokage mountain, looking over the village as she tried to figure out what to do from there. The Danzo she had known had ended up being a formidable opponent to a fully matured Uchiha with a Mangekyou Sharingan. There were not many that could do that, especially at his age. With his youth restored, Sakura was convinced that he was several times stronger than he had been when he had died in her timeline. She tensed her muscles when she heard someone approach from behind.

"Was it you who called me?" A familiar voice sounded out. Sakura turned and eyed the man, restraining the urge to run up and bear hug him. Kakashi strolled up to her, his orange book locked in his hand but closed, showing he was wary but not worried about the 'Academy Student.' He was one of five she had called.

"Yes. You are Hatake Kakashi, the copy-nin, and other than Danzo, probably the strongest shinobi in the village sans perhaps Maito Gai." Kakashi eyed her warely, suspicion evident in his lone eye.

"That is me. Who are you?" Sakura smirked. While she seemed young in body, she knew she put off an aura of an experienced jounin who had known war. Kakashi had also known war, and so he recognized it in the way she moved and spoke.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. I am an Academy student, and I have called you among others to help me with something." She told him, standing slowly to not startle him and looking him in the face. Beside him, Maito Gai, Sarutobi Asuma, Yuuhi Kurenai, and Uzuki Yugao appeared, each a swirl of leaves with the exception of Gai, who appeared in a blur. Gai was in his standard green spandex suit with his hitai-ate as his belt and a standard jounin vest. Kurenai was in that eerily beautiful bandage dress of hers. Asuma and Kakashi were similarly dressed, each in a standard Jounin outfit but for the Twelve Guardians bandana attached to Asuma's belt. Yugao was in standard ANBU attire, but lacked the mask.

"I find it odd that an Academy student would even know of the five of us." Yugao's eyes flicked between her comrades and the girl, her hand resting near a kunai pouch. "Even if she did, what would be her purpose to call us?" Sakura nodded, and looked at each of them.

"I have evidence that Sandiame Hokage-sama was assassinated." She told them, and the reactions were to be expected. Kakashi's eye narrowed, Gai stood a bit straighter. Asuma seethed, the cigarette in his mouth chewed to bits. Kurenai frowned and tensed when she heard, and Yugao had put a hand to her sword.

"How would you know that? Was it you who poisoned him?" Asuma asked, his rage evident. Sakura laughed dryly at this, her tone mocking.

"Like I could, or would, ever assassinate Sarutobi Hiruzen. No, only one person gained from his death, and you should all know who it is." All five took a look on their face of recognition, and she knew all five had come to the same conclusion. _Danzo._

"So what would you have us do about this? And what evidence do you have?" Kakashi asked, his tone lacking any boredom that she was accustomed to it holding. This was more difficult to explain. How could she tell the most elite Jounin in the village that she had placed an illegal listening seal into the office of their leader, where top secret information was often discussed. She had created an excuse for this reason.

"I stole into the morgue a couple nights ago, and checked the body myself. A rare but very deadly and quick acting poison was in his system. I suspect is done via a liquid, either sake or tea. I would guess that Danzo himself did not poison the beverage, but it was by his order. The only one who served Sandiame-sama tea was Mitsuki, his new assistant." Sakura cracked her knuckles slowly. "As for what to do about it, why, we gather support and overthrow the bastard."

Yugao snorted. "What is this 'we' business? I don't know how you have the skills to identify any poison, but 'we' does not include you. You are an Academy student, your business is learning history or throwing blunted kunai." Sakura had suspected this would happen. They would not take her seriously so long as they simply thought her an Academy student.

"I am stronger than Kakashi." She stated simply, and the five stared at her before Yugao, Asuma, and Kurenai burst into laughter. Gai's eyes raged in fire.

"A YOUTHFUL SOUL! SHE ASPIRES TO GREATNESS JUST LIKE MY STAR PUPIL! PERHAPS I SHOULD TAKE HER AS APPRENTICE AS WELL!" Gai shouted, his standard youth pose of grinning with his teeth sparkling had replaced his alert stance. Sakura scooted away from the man, and Kakashi just sighed.

"I can prove it if you would like." Sakura told them, and Kakashi raised a brow. He decided to show this student what strength really was. With a quick shunshin, he appeared behind Sakura with a kunai in hand.

"You shouldn't let enemy-" He was cut off when the girl turned and grabbed him as soon as he stopped, doing a shoulder throw that slammed him into the head of the Yondiame. Kakashi coughed, checking himself. That had hurt far more than it should have. Her strength was monstrous. He was sure one of his ribs was broken.

"... shinobi get behind you, right?" Sakura mocked him, her eyes twinkling with mischief. The four other jounin had shut up in a hurry. She bent next to Kakashi and green chakra sprang from her hand. He felt his rib mend and the pain go away. "You shouldn't under-estimate your opponent, Kakashi. There are people in this world who are younger than me and stronger than you." Kakashi nodded, still in shock.

"I believe that you are strong. I don't know if you are the same or stronger than me, but I know that you are skilled beyond your years." Kakashi said as he stood, and she nodded with acceptance to that.

"As I was saying, WE need to gather support. The shinobi population loved Sandiame-sama, and if we can spread the word about his murder without bringing too much attention to ourselves, we can catch Danzo and his ROOT by surprise. I am not concerned if he dies or not, he cannot be allowed to be Hokage." Kakashi and Asuma nodded in agreement at that. Kurenai looked thoughtful, her eyes on Asuma's back as she considered it. Gai was already jumping in excitement of bringing justice to the betrayer. Yugao was trembling.

"Danzo was said to have been a match for the Sandiame. He has been turned young again, and the Sandiame in his prime wasn't called the 'God of Shinobi' for no reason. Even if the whole village turns against him, who is to say that we will have the strength to take Danzo and his ROOT?" Kakashi put a hand on his collegue's shoulder.

"The Will of Fire burns brightly in us, and we will ensure the future of our village." He said quietly. Yugao stared at him for a few moments before nodding in agreement. Sakura cleared her throat, bringing attention back to her once more.

"Until the time is right, we musn't bring any attention to ourselves. If Danzo orders something, we must comply. We will strike on the night before his ascension to Kage-ship."

-RB-

Kakashi was already regretting the plan. If he had not agreed, he could have refused easily and left the village, but Sakura was right, Danzo needed to be overthrown. However, his current situation was not one he wanted to be in, and it was times like this he cursed the fact that he had the Sharingan.

Kakashi stood in front of Danzo, eyeing the murderer with a suspicious eye. He glanced at the woman next to him, an older woman with long black hair and onyx colored eyes, at least now. She was dressed in a simple kimono, probably one she wore around the house while doing housework. Kakashi had always envisioned himself a single man until the end of his days, but this changed that.

"Kakashi, I'm not giving you a choice. You will acknowledge me." The once elderly man commanded, and Kakashi nodded.

"I understand, Danzo-sama. I will marry Mikoto-san for the good of the village." He said in monotone. He couldn't believe that Danzo would use his power like that, but while the village was under martial law, Kakashi had no choice but to accept the terms. He was to marry Uchiha Mikoto and be the father of at least two children with her. They wanted more Uchiha in the village, and he was the best candidate to be the father, since he also had a Sharingan. Mikoto and the children would remain Uchiha, and he could remain Hatake if he so chose. Mikoto didn't seem particularly angry about the situation, though she had voiced concern for Sasuke.

Kakashi couldn't blame him. He himself was not much older than Itachi, less than ten years, and Mikoto was the age of his jounin-sensei, Namikaze Minato. She was still in child-bearing age, since kunoichis' bodies tended to degrade at a slower pace than a normal woman's. If Kakashi had to guess at her age, she was in her early to mid thirties, the age where a normal civilian woman's body begins to lose the ability to bear children safely. Kakashi knew this because his mother had died in childbirth with him, and both his father and his mother had been in their mid thirties.

Mikoto was not an ugly woman, in fact, she was quite beautiful, but Kakashi was not looking forward to being tied down. Kakashi had vowed never to love a woman after Rin, and he had kept himself true to that vow since. He had been with other women, for a man had his needs, but he had never loved any of them. And now he would forced to love this woman, for he would never divorce her. The Hatakes had once been a small clan, and one of their many traditions was that, once married, they could never divorce.

He noticed Mikoto eying him. He had been told by the few who had seen him unmasked that he was very good looking, and it seemed that Mikoto was trying to appraise him in that matter. Mikoto had always caught his eye, much like Kushina and Hinata's mother, Hinami had. He had always had an eye for older women, though most of the older women he knew were all taken.

"Very well. We'll do it now." Danzo said, and Kakashi snapped out of his thoughts, his eye widening at the comment. He regained his composure and nodded, and Mikoto nodded as well. Danzo stood.

"By the power invested in me as Hokage, I pronounce you man and wife. Go home, Kakashi, and get started on that next Uchiha. I will write up the marriage papers shortly." Danzo commanded, and Kakashi nodded, stepping over and taking Mikoto by the hand. She gazed at him, and they disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Danzo stared at the mess of leaves in the room.

_He did that on purpose._

-RB-

Sakura was headed home. It was after class on a Friday, and the sun was out, though it was cold, since winter had shown its face. Naruto had gone off to get ramen and Sasuke had been picked up by his mother. Sakura had a meeting with Kakashi in a bookstore later that day anyway. She was planning on working on seals and then meeting Kakashi before going out to train. She simply stepped into an alley wear no one was looking, and used the shunshin no jutsu to teleport to her living room. Her parents were out, like they were every Friday, since it was their date night.

She ran up to her room, and as soon as she opened the door, she knew something was wrong. She pulled a kunai and stepped inside. The room seemed the same, until her eyes landed on the one person she had never guessed she would have discovered inside of her room.

Sitting at her desk chair was Uchiha Itachi. She stiffened and prepared to throw her kunai.

"Stop." Itachi commanded, and a shadow clone appeared behind her, grabbed her kunai from her hand and sitting her down on her bed before she could react. She recognized the genjutsu that had frozen her and immediately shattered it. "Impressive. The fact that you noticed a genjutsu that was far beyond genin level proves to me that everything I've heard about you is true, Haruno Sakura." Sakura's eyes widened. Someone had been watching her train, even though she had set up perimeters with seals and ensured no one got near to her without her knowing. "You have interesting chakra. I have only seen such chakra in one other person before. Hmm..." Itachi's gaze perturbed her but she held fast and spoke.

"You are Sasuke's brother." She figured she would stick to basics and leave it at that. Better to play stupid and make sure he had no suspicions about her. Itachi raised a brow.

"Yes, I am. How is my foolish little brother doing?" Itachi asked, conversationally. It was odd. In her first time around, she had never thought of Itachi as anything but a psychotic mass murderer, and it wasn't until after his death that she found out the truth about him. This time, she regarded him calmly, since she knew what and who he really was this time around. He was still one of the most dangerous shinobi she had ever met.

"Sasuke is getting very strong. He could probably beat most of the chunin in the village at this point." Itachi nodded.

"How is it that a little girl like you, with no bloodline to my knowledge, is proclaimed to be as talented as me at that age? Are you really that strong, Sakura-san?" Itachi asked, and Sakura shrugged. She was as strong as Kakashi at this point, but not quite as strong as Itachi was. Of course, this was assuming he had already unlocked his Susanoo and had full control of his Mangekyou. "Haruno might be a strong name, but nothing on Uchiha."

"I wouldn't know, Itachi-san. All I know is that I am stronger than my chunin-sensei and I have broken Hatake Kakashi's ribs." She noticed the second genjutsu wear off, but she didn't move. There was no benefit to fighting Itachi now. Even if she managed to defeat him, she would then have to explain how she was able to match Uchiha Itachi blow for blow. Itachi raised an eyebrow, seemingly impressed.

"To be able to hit Sharingan Kakashi at your age with enough force to break bones is very impressive. That is not why I am here, however. I have information that you will be able to cure my sickness." Itachi said bluntly. Sakura blinked and frowned. Maybe someone had followed her when she did house calls? It was odd that he would know of her healing, since it wasn't renown yet.

"I have been working on medical jutsu, yes, but I am unsure what your sickness even is. It might so complicated that I can't fix it. I don't claim to be on Lady Tsunade's level or anything." Sakura said honestly. She had been almost as good as Tsunade in the medical arts, but the woman had worked on it for over thirty years, where Sakura had only worked on it for less than ten. Tsunade had proclaimed that she could teach her nothing more, but Sakura knew that she simply wanted Sakura to started creating her own techniques.

"I'm sure whatever you do won't make things any worse, at the very least." Sakura eyed the Uchiha warily, wondering why he would risk returning to the village.

"Do you want me to start now?" She asked, and the Uchiha nodded slightly. She sighed. "Lay down then, let me get a look at you." She told him, her strict medic voice coming out. Itachi stretched out on her bed, and she walked over, green emanating from her hands. She slowly scanned his body, looking for the source of the infection. "I know you aren't some psychotic mass murderer." She whispered, so Itachi could barely hear her. The Uchiha did nothing, not acknowledging what she said, but she knew he had heard. "What you did... I will probably never do anything as difficult as that." She had found the infection.

She had seen this before. To think he survived eight years with this was something to be said. She had guessed that when Sasuke killed him, he had been going on will alone. Before the war, this would have been impossible to cure, but she had been able to discover a cure after Genma had developed it and died from it. She had put his death to good use, studying his corpse as much as possible and finally developing a cure that she used to save Shikamaru later.

She started her work, first using her chakra to kill the most infected cells. Itachi would probably cough blood shortly, but this was expected. She would then heal his lungs and search his body for other infection before using a special pill to kill unhealthy cells in his body, and regenerate healthy cells until he was back to full strength. She could feel him watching her work, and it made her uneasy. Even now, after she knew his past and his future, she was still uneasy around the man. She sat back, letting the jutsu finish.

"Finished." She told him, and Itachi sat, before coughing. She winced as he coughed harder and harder, blood staining his fist as he coughed. He coughed for five minutes before finishing, and stared. "That was expected. That got rid of all the infected cells in your body. Here, this pill will remove the disease completely from your body. It will put you under for a few days, so find somewhere safe before you take it." She handed him a small, round package, since she had developed it to cure Hayate, and Itachi nodded, taking the pill and slipping it into his pocket. He stood slowly, and she could have swore she had seen a small smirk on his face.

"Thank you, Sakura-san. I feel much better already." He said, and stood, putting his mouth next to her ear. "Two days. I am going after Danzo in two days. Gather your followers and meet me on the Academy roof at midnight in two days." Itachi whispered into her ear, and Sakura nodded, before Itachi disappeared. Itachi was going after Danzo as well. This was an unexpected turn. She had things to do to plan for that. She created a shadow clone, left it in the room, and exited out the window, aiming to let her comrades know the new plans.

-RB-

Gai, Kakashi, Genma, Hayate, Yugao, Anko, Asuma, Kurenai, the original Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Mikoto, her own mother, Tsume, and Hana were all the jounin that had gathered to meet her. Sakura would have considered adding in her four friends that she had been training with, but they were green, and she knew Naruto had frozen his first time in real combat. She couldn't risk that happening to any of them on a dangerous mission like this one. Her mother seemed shocked to see her there, but she just walked up and hugged her.

"Hi Mom!" She frowned and stared at her daughter.

"What are you doing here, honey?" The way she asked the question made it obvious she had no idea how strong she was.

"I was the one who organized this meeting." She told her. The shock on her face was mildly amusing.

"Honey, an Academy student has no business in this mess." Sakura frowned and back away from her.

"Mom, I can take care of myself. I even beat up Kakashi a few days ago when he underestimated me." She told her, and Kakashi sighed, the memory stinging his pride. The other jounin who had seen it had never let him live it down. Haruno Mebuki glanced at Kakashi, and she knew it to be true.

"When did you get so strong, Sakura-chan? You must be some sort of genius." She said, a smile on her face. Sakura blushed at the compliment and hugged her mother again.

"Everything I am started with you and Dad." She told him, and Mebuki smiled. Sakura broke away from her mother, and walked over to the ledge of the Academy. As she did, Itachi appeared in a swirl of leaves. All the jounin tensed, preparing to attack the 'missing nin.' Sakura stepped in front of the Uchiha, a glare on her face. "Stop. Uchiha Itachi is not the criminal you think he is. He is here to help us defeat Danzo." Asuma stepped forward, returning Sakura's glare.

"He killed the Uchiha! I won't work with him!" Many of the other jounin yelled their agreements. Itachi sighed.

"I was ordered by Danzo to kill the Uchiha because my father was planning a coup. Sandiame-sama was trying for peace through negotiation and Danzo went over his head and ordered me to kill them. I left my brother and my mother alive because they had nothing to do with the coup." Itachi explained. Kakashi had always suspected something was wrong with the whole situation. He had noticed the Uchiha becoming more and more unsatisfied with their situation in the village.

"How do we know that is true?" Kurenai asked in her normal stern voice.

"There are only five people alive who know the truth, and three of them are Danzo and his two pets, Himura and Koharu. I am one, the fifth is not from this village and I have no idea how she found out." Itachi explained again, and Gai frowned.

"So you are saying we have to trust you?" He asked, all the youth talk banished from his mind for the moment.

"Yes. Sakura-san here trusts me. Even if I weren't guiltless, I am planning to take down Danzo, and if he has restored his youth as I have heard, then none of you standing here can face him. I doubt I can really face him, but I'll have some help. You know what they say. The enemy of my enemy." Sakura nodded.

"Your jobs will be to keep ROOT away from Danzo while I provide support to everyone. Itachi and his mystery helper will engage Danzo." The jounin looked dubious at best, and it was only when Mebuki walked forward that their doubts became less apparent.

"I will trust my daughter. She has a good head on her shoulders, and I will trust her judgement. She is far wiser than any of her age ought to be." Kakashi stepped forward, and the rest of the jounin followed slowly. Only Asuma remained behind, looking doubtful.

"Asuma-san, think of it this way. I am your best chance at revenge." Itachi said, his voice ever controlled. Asuma stared at him for a moment, and nodded. He stepped forward, and Kurenai smiled at him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Here's the plan..." Sakura said, laying out the plan on a map she had drawn out of the Hokage's tower.

-RB-

The best laid plans went to shit in the face of battle, it was often said. Sakura had seen it plenty of times in the past, and was seeing it again now. They had gone with a 'bust down the door and kick everyone's ass' approach, except, when they had kicked down the door, no one was there. Half way down the hall toward the Hokage's office, they were ambushed by ROOT, and fighting had separated everyone. Some kunoichi, Itachi's mysterious helper, Sakura would have ventured to guess, was engaging Danzo already, and Itachi had ran to join her.

Kakashi was down the hall fighting a Yamanaka ROOT. While it was evident that Kakashi was more skilled, the ROOT member was definitely skilled at delaying the inevitable. Gai was engaging what appeared to be an Aburame ROOT member. Kurenai and Asuma were fighting off half a dozen on their own, and she had lost sight of the others. Sakura moved to help Itachi when a ROOT member appeared in the hallway, to stop her from moving forward. She could see Itachi jumped away from a wind attack, blowing dust around half the council chambers where they were fighting.

The ROOT in front of her had his face covered in a mask, and was wearing typical ANBU gear, though half of his sleeve on his left arm was missing, triggering something in her memory, though she couldn't place it. He was a boy, probably her age, with a wakizashi on his back. He had something odd in one of his pouches, but she couldn't tell what it was. The boy was pale and his hair was dark, but, beyond that, she had no idea who he was. The boy pulled his sword and charged Sakura. Sakura ducked the initial swing, which had meant to take off her head, and retaliated with a kick, aiming at his neck.

The boy moved his head just enough so her foot went past, and caught her leg with his shoulder. He brought the blade around once more, aiming for her thigh. Sakura used his shoulder as anchor point, spinning around the sword in mid-air and slamming her other foot into the ROOT member's neck. The boy went flying back, slamming into the wall and falling to the floor. Sakura landed on her feet, smirking. The boy was probably high chunin level, but he had nothing on her. He stood slowly, and pulled out a pad of paper, with a paintbrush. Her eyes widened. Only one person used those to fight.

"Sai...?" She said quietly, though the boy didn't react. An ink tiger erupted from his notepad, and Sakura tensed. The tiger leapt at her, and she jumped to the right. Sai was already working on drawing more art. Sakura jumped forward and channeled chakra into her fist to prepare for a super-strength punch. Sai started to back-pedal to get away from her, but Sakura was too fast, and slammed her fist into Sai's mask, breaking it in half. The boy went flying through the wall and tumbled to a stop, no longer moving. Sakura approached him, checking his pulse. He was still living, though she had broken his jaw. Sakura turned and walked away.

A sharp pain shot through her back, and she cried out. Falling flat on her face, Sakura felt a kunai sticking out of her back, barely missing her spine. She pulled it out and healed the wound in a couple of seconds, and noticed Sai aiming another kunai at her. She spun away from the thrown weapon and brought her hand up, chakra surrounding it. She ran forward and pressed her hand to the tendons on Sai's arms and legs, a little trick she had picked up from Kabuto. She left the boy there, since she still needed to help Itachi with Danzo.

Sakura charged down the hall toward the council chamber. It was then that the Yamanaka ROOT went flying past her, a hole in his chest from Kakashi's Raikiri. The Aburame ROOT was crawling toward the council chamber, his legs bent at odd angles. The hallway was filled with ROOT agents, fighting off assaults by Anko, Genma, Hayate, and Yugao. Sakura walked up behind the Aburame ROOT, and severed his arteries in his heart. A couple of the nearby ROOT noticed her, and charged her.

"Clear the hall!" She called. The four jounin cleared out in a hurry.

Sakura ducked under a kunai, charging a ROOT agent and slamming her into the wall, breaking her neck. She spotted Kakashi down the hall, fighting three off at once while Itachi was fighting Danzo with his mysterious helper. Sakura went through some hand seals and cleared the hallway toward the council room where Danzo was with a Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu. As the water dragon dissipated, she began running down the hall. She slid to a stop inside the council room, spotting Itachi, Danzo, and the mysterious kunoichi.

The kunoichi seemed familiar. Sakura felt as though she should have recognized the woman. She was interrupted by a hand hitting her in the neck from behind, knocking her out.

-RB-

Danzo was a man of patience. Patiently, he had waited for the right moment to take the title of Hokage. Patiently, he had gotten rid of all evidence of ROOT, until only the members remained and nothing else. Patiently, he had ridden out the Uchiha situation until he was able to rid himself of the biggest threat to his take over. And now, everything had come down around him.

While he had not thought it would be a smooth takeover, he had not planned for the level of resistance he was getting. The most elite jounin in the village had teamed up to take him down. That, he could have dealt with. That was managable. Uchiha Itachi and that myserious kunoichi he had met some years ago were not part of the plan. He had never suspected that Itachi would return so soon. He knew Itachi had been close to the Sandiame, but he had planned on the news network of the missing nin being several months late getting to him, at which point he would have put down all resistance, and he could have taken Itachi, Orochimaru, and then this Akatsuki he had been hearing about head on.

It was the fault of that kunoichi, he knew. She had found out about his plans months before they took place the first time around, and she knew about his doings once more. He knew she had told Itachi of the Sandiame's death, and now Itachi was here to take his revenge. She was strong, probably the strongest kunoichi he had ever met, besides maybe Tsunade. Together, she and Itachi could probably have even taken Hiruzen in his prime. Danzo was almost on the man's level now, but he would never reach that level, he knew. He didn't have the talent, but he would be a better leader.

Danzo jumped to the side as a fireball roared past him. He responded by going through hand seals.

"Fūton: Shinkūha!" He called, and a giant blade of air shot forward at Itachi, who had landed and was out of position. The kunoichi jumped in front of the Uchiha, and a wall of earth shot up between the jutsu and herself, blocking the attack. She suddenly appeared next to him, bringing her blade around in a slash. He ducked, barely avoiding having his head taken off. She was fast, perhaps faster than him. Itachi appeared on his other side, and he was suddenly engaged in a melee with both shinobi, barely fending off each attack.

When a clone of Itachi suddenly appeared on his left, and slammed his sword through his chest, Danzo had no choice but to use the Izanagi to undo the damage. He jumped away, ripping the bandage from his head as he did so. He needed the Sharingan in his eye to deal with the likes of Itachi and this kunoichi.

Itachi stared at Danzo, anger on his face. While Itachi never showed much emotion, someone who had known him as long as Danzo had knew his little facial movements.

"Sharingan covered arm. Shisui's eye. The only person to profit from the death of my clan was you, Danzo." Itachi said, the lack of emotion in his voice a little disturbing to anyone but Danzo.

"It was for-" Danzo was cut off by Itachi, who lost his composure.

"IT WAS NOT FOR THE GOOD OF THE VILLAGE! YOU WERE THE REASON THEY WANTED TO REBEL!" Itachi yelled, his rage getting the better of him. "IF YOU HADN'T KEPT THEM BOTTLED UP LIKE WILD ANIMALS, THEN THEY WOULD HAVE NEVER GONE THAT FAR!" The kunoichi put her hand on Itachi's shoulder, and he visibly calmed. He would have guessed that there was some sort of romance there if he didn't know Itachi as well as he did.

"The Uchiha were a curse on this village. One of every ten was a genius like you, sure, but one of every ten was also a monster like Madara." Danzo stated calmly. It was all excuses, he needed the Uchiha out of the way if he were to be Hokage. Itachi's Mangekyou swirled, and Danzo found himself engulfed in black flames. Another Izanagi found him completely fine.

"You cannot defeat me, Itachi. You have read about the Mangekyou. The more you use those abilities, the less you see. It will make you blind. How much can you still see, Itachi?" Danzo asked, almost mockingly. Itachi just stared at him impassively, before charging at him, aiming a fireball at the man. Danzo jumped to the side, and thanks to the Sharingan, he saw the kunoichi coming up on his side. He rolled into a ball to dodge her slash, and then extended, smashing his foot into her stomach. She coughed and flew back as he slid to a stop. Itachi was suddenly behind him, slamming a kunai into his heart. Or, he would have, if Danzo had not used Izanagi once more.

Danzo retreated once again, and noticed that his ROOT were nearly defeated. He didn't have much hope of coming out of this battle victorious, and Danzo never played the game unless the odds were in his favor. It was time to retreat. Itachi and the kunoichi charged him once more, but he was ready for his escape this time. He smirked and a log appeared in his place when the kunoichi sword slammed into his side On the log were several paper seals, and Itachi and the kunoichi were barely able to escape the blast radius before they went off, taking out the top half of the Hokage Tower with them.

Danzo made his quick escape out the gate, but he knew this wasn't over. In fact, it was just beginning.

-End-

I am not in the habit of translating jutsu(Except custom ones). If you would like me to, please let me know. If ten or more people say that they would like to me to translate jutsu, I will begin doing so.

Next time, on Dragon Ba- wait, wrong one.

_Itachi stood motionless in the Hokage's office, with Honour next to him. Apparently, she was going to be commissioned as a Konoha shinobi. That was good, because she was probably the only person in the village that could match him now that he was cured of his sickness. Perhaps they would go on missions together._

_While Itachi had been accepted back into the village, he had not been allowed to tell anyone who didn't know his situation already, Sasuke included. In the near future, he would be allowed to break the news to his little brother, but until then, he assumed he would continue his position as an ANBU captain._

_"Itachi, you were one of our finest ANBU, loyal to a fault. That's why this new mission I have for you is dangerous and only you can pull it off. I need you to go back into Akatsuki and pass me information about their members, their movements, and their objectives. I also need you to maintain the spy network I have had to abandon since becoming Hokage. Can you do that?" Jiraiya, the perverted one of the Legendary Sannin, and now the Godiame Hokage, asked him._


	7. Team Seven

The start of the next arc, the Land of Wave arc, of course! Obviously, with team Seven being what it is, I'mma add a little more in to make it interesting.

Heheh also... Any guesses on where future Kurama ended up?

-RB-

"Team Seven will be Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke. Your sensei will be Hatake Kakashi." Naruto grinned in response, and Sasuke smirked. Sakura giggled a little, glad to have her original team back. One might ask how this team ended up together. Sakura was Rookie of the year, and because this was the first time a kunoichi had taken that title, there was no secondary title like 'Kunoichi of the Year.' Sasuke was second in class, and Naruto... well, no matter how smart he got, Naruto was terrible at anything academic related. He ended up being the dead last, and because Sakura had forbidden him from using the shadow clones until he found a legitimate method to learn it, he had failed the last exam too.

Right on queue Mizuki had approached Naruto, and told him about a make up exam. Naruto had stolen the Forbidden Scroll, and 'learned' the Shadow Clone Jutsu. He beat Mizuki rather easily and was allowed to pass. That still put him in the dead last position, thus pairing him with the Rookie of the year and the second best.

"Team Eight will be Akimichi Chouji, Inuzaka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. Your sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma." Naruto glared at Kiba. The two had not been friends like they had in the first time around. With Naruto hanging out with Sakura, Sasuke, Ino, and Shikamaru all the time, he and Kiba had never gotten close. They plain hated each other. Kiba would make fun of Narruto for his poor accademics, and Naruto would beat Kiba's ass on the sparring field.

"Team Nine is still in rotation from last year, so Team Ten will be Nara Shikamaru, Hyuuga Hinata, and Yamanaka Ino. Your sensei is Yuuhi Kurenai." Ino smirked at Shikamaru. Sakura knew she would have preferred to be on Sasuke's team, but she was friends with Shikamaru because of their training sessions, so she wasn't completely unhappy. They even had a little bit of a rivalry going. Sakura was glad Ino had been put under Kurenai. She would flourish there, and Hinata's new backbone would surely allow her to become a powerhouse in her own right. Iruka closed his book and smiled at his class.

"I want to say I proud of all of you! I know you will be great shinobi, but don't think it is a game. Being a shinobi is life or death, and if you slack off too much, you end up dead. Wait here for your senseis, they will be here shortly to pick up their teams." Iruka said, and left the classroom. Kiba turned toward Naruto, with a smirk on his face. This smelled of trouble.

"Eh, Naruto, how did you pass the exam after you failed it? I mean, only an idiot would fail the test the first time." Naruto glared at the boy.

"I learned a better jutsu than the stupid Clone Jutsu." Naruto said, and left it at that. Sakura decided to speak up for once.

"You know, Kiba, Naruto may not be great at academics, but he is a better fighter than you. I'm sure that when you fight enemy shinobi, it'll be important to know who the First Hokage's rival was." She said with a smirk, and the class laughed at Kiba. Kiba growled and sat down, angry he had lost. Ironically, that particular bit of information might have had some importance in the future.

Kurenai and Asuma showed up first (Sakura didn't have to guess why they were together). As the other senseis came by and took the teams away, she noticed Naruto getting more and more agitated. She had forgotten how late Kakashi was to things that weren't emergencies, and she knew she would have to break him of that habit or the three of them would probably end up killing him.

Sakura smirked, she had an idea.

-RB-

Kakashi was happily reading his book in a tree next to Training Ground 7. Occasionally he would look up and stare at the statue, but mostly he would sit in the tree and read. It was true that he spent most of his time around the statue, but he didn't stare at it for hours like many people seemed to think. The presence of the statue was a comfort for the Hatake. When he was near it, it was like Minato, Rin, Obito, and his father were still alive.

Kakashi looked the sky and nodded.

"I think they've waited long enough." He said to himself as he snapped his book closed and slid it into one of his weapons pouches. He stood lazily, stretched for a few seconds, and used the body flicker to appear outside of the Academy.

_Now who was it that was on my team again?_ Kakashi thought, as he walked into the building. _I have my cute little step-son, and Sensei's son. Who was the third one? Harina? Hurona? Haruno! Haruno... Sakura... shit._ He opened the door and his battle senses flared. He jumped to the right as a barrage of kunai came at him. He slid to a stop in the hallway when a dark haired kid appeared behind him. _Sasuke. He's quicker than I would have thought. I have to tell Mikoto to be careful with his sword training, he just about took my head off..._ Kakashi ducked a swipe of the boy's sword. He kicked out behind him, striking the Uchiha in the gut with a mule kick to send him away. A blonde appeared in front of him, and Kakashi's eyes widened. _Sensei's son. He's already skilled._

Kakashi barely dodged a barrage of swipes from a strange set of bracer blades the boy had. The kid was skilled with them, that was for sure, but Kakashi wasn't one of the most elite jounin for nothing. He pulled out a kunai to deflect a couple blows and started to pushed the blonde back with an aggressive assault. He barely had time to use the replacement technique when the Uchiha sent a barrage of kunai down the hall at his back.

Kakashi reappeared in the Academy yard, huffing slightly from the intensity of the assault. What had possessed these kids to attack him like this? He knew the answer already. He had yet to see her, but he knew she would be coming for him. Of the three, she was the one who's skills were most unknown to him.

"Sensei." He heard her say from behind him, and barely dodged a blow that created a crater in the ground. Sakura wrenched her foot out of the ground and grinned at him. The other two appeared as well, the blonde to his left, the Uchiha to his right. He knew he had no chance of defeating these kids on his own, since this Sakura was obviously Elite Jounin strength already, and the two kids were high chunin as well.

"As a first impression... I hate all of you." Kakashi said, no hint of humor in his voice. Sakura rushed forward in a blur, and Kakashi had no choice but to pull up his headband to reveal the Sharingan. Sasuke seemed surprised for a moment, perhaps not prepared for his step-father to take them seriously, but began running through handseals. The blonde charged as well, his bracer blades ready to kill.

Sakura spun and slammed a foot right in front of Kakashi, creating a crater that caused him to stumble. The blonde jumped high and brought his blade down, aiming to sheath it in Kakashi's throat. Kakashi twisted at the last moment and deflected the attacked, causing the Uzumaki to tumbled away. He turned to see a giant fireball coming his way. _That will burn down the Academy if I let that go. No choice here._ He went through his own handseals quickly and a wall of earth sprung between him and the fireball, causing the fire to explode over him. A hole appeared in his wall, and Kakashi was sent flying by Sakura's fist. Naruto appeared over him, and Kakashi had to resort to another substitution technique.

By then he was panting. With the Sharingan and the replacements (which took a decent amount of chakra to pull off unless you had perfect chakra control), he was getting low on chakra. The fact that a group of genin had pushed him this far was remarkable. If he was Hokage, he might have simply promoted them to chunin right then and there.

"Ma, ma! I give up." Kakashi called as he slid his headband down over the Sharingan. Sakura appeared next to him, and punched him right in the ribs, causing several to crack. Kakashi could tell she was holding back as well. He tumbled away, slidding to a stop on his feet and coughing a small amount of blood.

"Kakashi-sensei, for every hour you are late, the punishment will get worse. Consider that as we start our career together. Also, I think this proves we can work well as a team, so is the bell test necessary?" She asked, and Kakashi sighed. This girl seemed to know everything. It was somewhat suspicious, but she might have asked around town about it.

"Heal my ribs and it won't be." He told her, and she grinned, before coming over to him and healing his ribs in a few seconds. She tossed him a pill, one he recognized as a varient of a soldier pill.

"That will restore your chakra over the next hour. No side effects." She told him, and he shrugged before popping it in his mouth so quickly that they couldn't see his face. Immediately he felt his chakra coming back.

"Well, since we are all here, let's do our introductions. Name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams, that sort of thing." Kakashi said. "Sakura first."

"Haruno Sakura. I like training, my friends, and getting stronger. I dislike the people who try to hurt my friends, perverts, and lazy, late senseis." She said, glaring at Kakashi. Kakashi sweatdropped. "My hobbies are training and learning new medical techniques, and my dream is to make it to jounin and lead a long life with all of my friends."

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage! I like training and Sakura-chan, and I guess the teme is ok too." Sasuke glared at Naruto. "Oh, and ramen. I hate the three minutes it takes for ramen to cook, and swords." Sasuke glared again. "My hobbies are eating ramen, training, and beating the teme in spars." Another glare. "My dream is become Hokage, and to make the teme my personal bitch." A fourth glare, and Sakura laughed at that one.

"Uchiha Sasuke. I like my friends, my mom, and tomatoes, but not much else. I dislike a lot of things, the dobe over there being somewhere on that list," It was Naruto's turn to glare. "And, of course, you, _step-father._ " The icy glare he sent Kakashi could have frozen steam. Danzo had forced Kakashi to marry Mikoto, and Sasuke HATED it. Mikoto was even expecting at this point, and Kakashi wasn't thrilled about it as of yet, though Mikoto was a pleasant woman to be around and her training made her gorgeous and a tiger in the bedroom. "My hobby is training. My dream... more of an ambition... to restore my clan, and to kill a certain man."

Of course, it was Kakashi's imperative to make it so Sasuke wasn't the only one in Konoha to restore the Uchiha clan. And this pissed Sasuke off to no end.

"I am Hatake Kakashi. My likes are-" Kakashi was cut off by Sakura.

"Reading porn books and staring at the memorial stone at training ground 7. His dislikes are anyone who abandons their comrades. His hobbies are reading porn and training. His dreams were to live a single life and die for his village, but he isn't so sure about that now that he is married." Sakura finished, and Kakashi glared at her. He had known she had been keeping an eye on all the shinobi in the village, the jounin especially.

"Normally, I would give you a survival test that would functions as the true genin test, but considering the teamwork you three just showed and the fact that you are all friends, I am going to pass you automatically. Also, please refrain from ambushing me in the future." Kakashi told them, and Sakura laughed.

"Only if you are on time, Sensei. If we have to come get you, it will be a long and painful journey to our assignment of the day." She told him with a scary grin, and Kakashi gulped slightly.

-RB-

Itachi stood motionless in the Hokage's office, with Honour next to him. Apparently, she was going to be commissioned as a Konoha shinobi. That was good, because she was probably the only person in the village that could match him now that he was cured of his sickness. Perhaps they would go on missions together.

While Itachi had been accepted back into the village, he had not been allowed to tell anyone who didn't know his situation already, Sasuke included. In the near future, he would be allowed to break the news to his little brother, but until then, he assumed he would continue his position as an ANBU captain.

"Itachi, you were one of our finest ANBU, loyal to a fault. That's why this new mission I have for you is dangerous and only you can pull it off. I need you to go back into Akatsuki and pass me information about their members, their movements, and their objectives. I also need you to maintain the spy network I have had to abandon since becoming Hokage. Can you do that?" Jiraiya, the perverted one of the Legendary Sannin, and now the Godiame Hokage, asked him.

Could Itachi do that? Certainly. With his new health, his new partnership with Honour(who he was considering bringing to Akatsuki so he would have someone to trust), and his new freedom now that he was no longer a real nuke-nin, he had a lot of time and ability to perform the tasks asked of him. His biggest relief was the fact that, now that his sickness was gone, he would not have to rely on the Mangekyou so much. His vision was beginning to blur already.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. I told the leader that I had personal revenge business to take care of in Konoha. He will hear how the Sandiame was assassinated and Danzo was driven out, and he will probably think both were by my hands. With this, I can assure my position in Akatsuki. However, I do have some requests." Jiraiya raised a brow and nodded.

"What sort of request?" Itachi cleared his throat.

"It is actually three requests. One, I would like to see Sasuke well trained and mentored, but please do not allow the people to spoil him. With our mother around, she should help curb that, but the Uchiha in the past have had a tendancy to be very arrogant. Two, the kunoichi named Honour, who helped me against Danzo. I would like any charges against her pardoned and to allow her to come with me to be my partner back in Akatsuki." Itachi told him. Jiraiya raised a brow. Honour made no indication that this surprised her.

"The first request is easy enough. Sasuke is under Hatake Kakashi, your step-father. While he may hate him, Kakashi will be sure to be fair amongst the three genin on his team. Well, Haruno does not need much in the way of help, but he will split his time between Uzumaki Naruto and your brother." Itachi frowned at Naruto's name. That was one of the targets of Akatsuki.

"I would be careful with Uzumaki-san, Jiraiya. Akatsuki has targeted him." This didn't surprise Jiraiya, at least not outwardly.

"Because of the Kyuubi." Itachi simply nodded. "I'll make sure to keep an eye on him, but I won't restrict him to the village until I know they are actively coming after him. As for your second request, that is easy enough. I had planned on making her a Konoha Shinobi, but I believe she would function better at your side. Orochimaru left Akatsuki recently, did he not?"

"Yes. I think Honour will fit his spot perfectly." Jiraiya nodded.

"Very well, I'll allow it. And your third request?" Itachi sighed and nodded.

"There is a woman in the nearby village of Karak, who is restricted to a wheelchair. I have become somewhat fond of her, and would appreciate it if you have a shinobi check up on her every once in a while." Itachi told the new Hokage. "Her name is Hibena, and I might find myself visiting her from time to time. If our enemies caught on to this, they could use her as leverage against me." Itachi had missed the flash of surprise on Honour's face, but Jiraiya did not.

"Very well. I wish you two the best of luck. I do have one request of you, Honour." Jiraiya said before they left. Honour turned and bowed.

"What do you need of me, Hokage-sama?" Honour asked respectfully.

"I need you to retrieve Orochimaru's Akatsuki ring. He keeps it on the hand that Itachi cut off." He said, and Itachi nodded. Honour bowed once more.

"Yes, it will be done."

"Hokage-sama, one more thing. Orochimaru came after me for my Sharingan. If he can't have it from me, he will go after Sasuke or my mother next. Best be careful when sending him off." Itachi turned and the two elite missing nin left the office of the Godiame. Jiraiya smirked and clicked the intercom.

"Rei, send for Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto. In fact, also schedule the Uchihas to be here after them as well." Rei was a woman in her twenties with a large chest and wide hips, so of course she was Jiraiya's secretary.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

-RB-

For the second time since she had come back to this new time period, Haruno Sakura was standing in front of the Hokage. While it was a different Hokage, it still didn't bode well. She was sure Jiraiya was suspicious of her. As to why Naruto was here, she didn't really know.

"Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Hatake Kakashi. Team 7. Apparently the best team to come out of the Academy since my own. Did you know I was on Team 7? My genin team was on Team 7, and my best student, Minato, who became the Yondiame, his own genin team was Team 7. Kakashi was on that team. Seems like a long list of successful Team 7s. But that's not why I called you here. You two both know jutsu that you should be able to know or even perform as of yet." Sakura wondered if the list of Team 7s could be called successful with the fate of all the members of them(most of them died in battle), but pushed the thought to the side.

"Naruto, the paper work on you mentions you learned the Shadow Clone technique from the Forbidden scroll when Mizuki tricked you, so that is excuseable. However, elemental manipulation is a jounin level technique, and you two were using such techniques before you graduated the academy. You can see why I would find something suspicious here. Sasuke has reason to know fire techniques, but he shouldn't know any lightning techniques as of yet." Jiraiya watched their reactions. Naruto glanced at Sakura, who stayed stone still, not reacting to anything Jiraiya was talking about.

"How did you find out?" Was Sakura's only response. Jiraiya smirked. She was already well trained in resisting any form of interrogation.

"Sarutobi-sensei mentioned in the paper work on you that you knew a couple of elemental jutsu, but I was suspicious. When I heard of this, I dropped in on one of your training sessions unnoticed. I must admit, you are a skilled fuinjutsu user, but I am the only master left, and your privacy seals and suggestion seals were no match for me. I am curious how you learned these seals, and how you came to know Tsunade's super strength, more genjutsu than even a skilled Uchiha, and almost as many elemental jutsu as me." Jiraiya said, eyeing the pink-haired girl carefully. Sakura knew Jiraiya would not be so easily fooled as Sarutobi. She had to think of something quick. She needed to be more careful in the future, or her true existence would be uncovered. Sakura glanced at Naruto, who turned away from her and blushed. She sighed, and her hand flashed out, knocking the blonde boy unconscious. Naruto fell to the ground in a heap, and Sakura activated the privacy seals in the Hokage's room. Jiraiya's eyes went wide for a minute.

"How-"

"I'm gonna tell you everything about what happened to me, Hokage-sama." Sakura said, cutting him off. "And it isn't for him to hear it, or anyone else for that matter. If people found out what I was, they would freak out." Jiraiya looked curious but nodded.

"My name Haruno Sakura, and I am, mentally, 21 years old." She told him, and Jiraiya's eyes widened. "I came to the past, with three others, to change what happened to the world." Sakura sighed. "I guess I'll start from the beginning. When I was twelve in my original timeline, I graduated the Academy and was put on Team 7 with Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, with Hatake Kakashi as our instructor. Sasuke had lost all of his family, including his mother, who Itachi did not spare. He was closed off and arrogant as could be. Naruto had never had anyone acknowledge his existence except for Sandiame-sama, who was still Hokage when I became a genin. He learned the shadow clone technique the night of graduation, and learned the truth about why the village shunned him." Jiraiya stared at her.

"So much has changed then. I don't completely believe you, but some things are coming into prospective now." Jiraiya said, and Sakura nodded.

"One of the people I came back with, I believe, was the reason Sasuke's mother lived. I befriended the boys at an early age, so Naruto would have a happier childhood, and Sasuke would have close friends. You probably have already met one of the other three who came back. She is a kunoichi, black hair, onyx eyes, very pretty, very strong." Jiraiya's eyes widened.

"Honour? She came back with you?" He asked. He noted she didn't mention a Sharingan.

"As far as I know, although it might not be the same woman. I'm pretty sure that she is one of my prior companions, due to her knowledge of the events that have recently passed, but I could be wrong. She looked different than I remember. As for the war, it was started by a group named 'Akatsuki.' The leader of the group, a man named Tobi, was trained by Uchiha Madara and brought together some of the strongest criminals in the world to capture the jinchuuriki and rip out their biju. We had only one jinchuuriki left when we came back, and the elemental nations fell to Tobi, who could not be defeated because of a space-time ninjutsu he used to avoid all attacks. Tobi was behind the release of the Kyuubi the day Naruto was born." Sakura said. Jiraiya shook his head. He had known someone was behind that incident, but to know that it was a man with a Sharingan trained by Madara himself, it made that much more sense.

"Anyway, as Team 7, we went on many missions and got close as teammates, comrades, and friends. Everything changed when we entered the chunin exams. Orochimaru infiltrated the chunin exams and marked Sasuke with a cursed seal, and told him that he would give Sasuke the power to kill his brother, which was Sasuke's driving ambition in life. During the third exam, Orochimaru teamed up with Sunagakure and attacked Konoha, killing the Sandiame. He lost his arms to the Dead Demon Consuming seal that Sandiame used on him to seal the Shodiame and Nidiame when Orochimaru brought them back with the Edo Tensei." Jiraiya had known that Orochimaru had learned the forbidden technique, but to use it to bring back the first two Hokage to kill the Sandiame, he would have never expected the man to go that far.

"Sasuke's cursed seal developed during the chunin exams, and gave him a large power boost. He resisted that power boost until Uchiha Itachi showed up in town with Hoshigaki Kisame, both of whom were apart of a group of criminals known as Akatsuki. They went after Naruto, but were intercepted by Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai. The two missing nin defeated the three jounin and Itachi used a Kinjutsu to put Kakashi in a coma. Naruto had gone off with you to find Tsunade to the be the Godiame, and Sasuke found out about Itachi being in town. He went after his brother, and was utterly annihilated. Placed in a similar coma as Kakashi's, their only hope was Tsunade."

"On the trip, you taught Naruto the Rasengan, and encountered Orochimaru, who was trying to get Tsunade to heal his arms. Orochimaru offered to bring back Tsunade's lover and brother in exchange for healing Orochimaru's arms. She drugged you to use you and Naruto as sacrifices, but due to Naruto's influence on her, she changed her mind and fought Orochimaru. Her fear of blood caused her to be defeated by Yakushi Kabuto, a medic nin and Orochimaru's right hand man. You and Naruto came in to rescue them, but the drug on you caused your chakra control to be disturbed, allowing Orochimaru to defeat you. Naruto defeated Kabuto with a Rasengan and but was almost killed in the process. Tsunade saved Naruto and conquered her fear of blood, and together, you and her drove Orochimaru away. She agreed to become Godiame." Jiraiya mulled this over. To find Tsunade could not have taken more than a month, but for the boy to master the Rasengan in that time? It was truly extraordinary. In another time, Tsunade would have been Godiame.

"When you returned, Tsunade healed Kakashi and Sasuke, but Sasuke had lost all of his confidence. He challenged Naruto to a fight. Naruto had been a true dead last in the Academy, and Sasuke had been rookie of the year, but they managed a tie when Kakashi intervened. Sasuke, angry at Naruto's improvement, was tempted by Orochimaru's personal bodyguards, the Sound Four. He went with them and was sealed away so his cursed seal could evolve once more. A team of genin led by Nara Shikamaru was dispatched to retrieve Sasuke." Orochimaru WOULD use the boy's lack of self-confidence and need for revenge in his favor.

"The team was split up fighting the Sound Four, but they were eventually defeated at the cost of severe injury to most of the genin. Naruto went after Sasuke himself, and they fought at the Valley at the End." Jiraiya found that ironic. One of Senju blood with the Kyuubi against a corrupt Uchiha once more. "They battled long and hard, each pushing past their limits, but in the end, Naruto lost because he could not deal a lethal blow to his friend." That sounded all too familiar to Jiraiya. He had failed to end Orochimaru when they had fought the first time after the snake had become a missing nin.

"Sasuke joined Orochimaru and Naruto left with you on a training trip that lasted three years. During that time, I became Tsunade's apprentice, and learned everything she knew except her ace jutsu, the Creation Rebirth technique. Naruto returned with larger chakra stores, more of the Kyuubi's chakra at his disposal, and a better tactical mind. We did many missions to counter Akatsuki and try to find Sasuke together with Kakashi, one of Danzo's ROOT operatives named Sai, and an ANBU captain named Tenzo." Jiraiya knew of Tenzo, the man Orochimaru had infused with the Shodiame's DNA.

"During this time, Sarutobi Asuma was killed by Akatsuki and most of the remaining bijuu were collected by Akatsuki with the exception of Naruto and the Hachibi's jinchuuriki, a man from Kumo named Killer Bee." Jiraiya wasn't surprised by this. Akatsuki had some powerful members and could easily take down most of the jinchuuriki. "Soon after, you went to find out who the leader of Akatsuki was, and you died in Amegakure against a man calling himself Pein, who proclaimed to be the leader of Akatsuki." Jiraiya frowned at that. For someone to be powerful enough to kill him to be in Akatsuki, that would spell serious trouble later.

"It was then that Pein, or otherwise known as Nagato," Jiraiya frowned at the name, "came to Konoha, seeking Naruto to capture him for Akatsuki. He possessed the legendary Kekkai Genkai, the Rinnegan, and proceeded to destroy the village single-handedly. Naruto, who had been taken to Mount Myoboku to become the new Toad Sage, returned to stop Pein from killing the remaining people of Konoha. During a long and intense battle, in which Naruto was forced to go eight tails to defeat him, he was eventually victorious and defeated Pein. He then confronted him and Nagato told him his story, of how you trained him and his two friends, and how he had started Akatsuki to liberate Amegakure from Hanzo. He revealed how his best friend Yahiko had died when Hanzo had teamed up with Danzo, and how he had given up on a world without war. Naruto convinced Pein that he would bring about such a world, and Nagato used the last of his chakra to revive all the people he had killed in Konoha. He died of chakra exhaustion soon after." Jiraiya was saddened to hear that story but was happy to know that his godson had been such a good person.

"Soon after, however, Tsunade fell into a coma from chakra exhaustion, and Danzo used his stolen Sharingan eye to make himself Hokage. The Kage met in a Kage summit in the land of Iron to discuss what to do with Akatsuki. It was then that Tobi showed up and declared the 4th Great Shinobi War, after explaining his plan to resurrect the Juubi and plant a Mangekyou Sharingan on the moon to enslave everyone so there would be no more war. Sasuke crashed the summit and killed Danzo, having developed a Mangekyou of his own after killing Itachi. After Danzo died, Tsunade woke up once more, and the war began. Naruto and Killer Bee were put on an island to keep them out of Akatsuki's hands. There, Naruto learned to master the Kyuubi's chakra, but when he heard about the war, he rushed to the front lines. Kabuto had used Edo Tensei to resurrect all of the past members of Akatsuki, many of the previous Kage, the Jinchuuriki they had extracted the Bijuu from, and many other powerful warriors." Jiraiya sensed that there were plans to kill Kabuto as soon as possible.

"One of the people brought back was Uchiha Madara, and he proceeded to kill the five Kage and then fight against Naruto, Killer Bee, Kakashi, and Gai. Tobi revealed himself to be Uchiha Obito, Kakashi's one time teammate. He was thought dead during the 3rd war, but Madara had saved him and brainwashed him into pursuing his dream after Madara died. Kakashi and Obito shared a Sharingan eye, and Kakashi was the only person on the planet who get through Obito's space-time technique. They fought for quite a while, managing to defeat Madara and injuring Obito, but Obito managed to kill Kakashi. Our last hope of winning the war winked out then and there, and for two years we were on the run. All of our comrades died, and, in the end, it was only Naruto, Nara Shikamaru, Yuuhi Kurenai, her daughter, the kunoichi I believe is Honour, Sarutobi Konohamaru, and myself. Sasuke eventually confronted us and was killed by Naruto, and Honour took his eyes and transplanted them in place of her own, as well as absorbing his DNA like Danzo did with the Shodiame's cells. Naruto came up with a seal to send us back in time to stop the war from ever happening." Jiraiya was impressed. Such a seal would be so large and complex that it would take days to finish, as well as a huge amount of chakra. This also explained why Honour had a Sharingan.

"However, right before Naruto finished the seal, Obito found us and attacked. Naruto activated the seal at the last moment, and that was when I awoke in my seven year old body. The seal was designed to take three, but it malfunctioned and grabbed four, and I have identified three definites and one possibility. Honour is one, Naruto is another, and I am the last definite, and I am fairly certain Nara Shikamaru is the last one. However, Naruto failed to factor in the Kyuubi, or the battle, or having the entire group in the seal room. I am the only one who came back properly. Naruto was forced into a seal inside his younger self's mind, instead of taking over. He used the last of chakra to increase younger Naruto's skills, but he could not transfer his memories. Honour didn't even come into her younger body, she simply came as her older self. Shikamaru, I think he and his younger self are sharing the body." Sakura finished, and Jiraiya watched her in amazement. It would certainly factor in a lot of things, like how Honour had seemingly appeared out of thin air, or Naruto was so skilled despite having been mostly shunned his whole life.

"So... what happens now?" Jiraiya asked, and Sakura shrugged.

"I honestly don't know. With Honour's interference in the Uchiha incident and Danzo killing the Sandiame, nothing is as it was. The only thing I can ensure is that there will be a chunin exams in a few months, and in my timeline, Orochimaru attacked and killed the Sandiame. So I would prepare for that, since Suna betrayed us at that time. As for now, allow things to run its course. If it turns out the same, team Seven can ambushed and kill Orochimaru and Kabuto in the forest of death, and that will solve half of our problems. We will have to wait until Obito reveals himself for us to go in after him. We will need Kakashi, though." She explained. Jiraiya had doubts.

"You think team Seven is strong enough to take Orochimaru?" He asked, and Sakura shook her head.

"No, not at this current time. However, we have several months until we participate in the exams. If I can get Naruto and Sasuke battle familiar by then, then we will most likely win." She told him. Jiraiya nodded.

"What happened to the older version of Kyuubi?" Sakura frowned.

"I don't know. He didn't go into younger Naruto's Kyuubi, and he didn't appear in the seal that held older Naruto. I can only think that he was either released or transferred to someone else." Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.

"That can happen?"

"I don't know, but when a seal goes wrong like the time seal, I think anything is possible." She said, and Jiraiya accepted that. It was then that Naruto started to stir.

"Very well, I accept your explanation. I expect you two back with Sasuke tomorrow for missions." He told them, and Sakura nodded.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. Come on, Naruto, we should go train." Naruto nodded weakly as he tried to process what happened, and the two of them left the room quickly. Jiraiya sighed. He had one more appointment to go.

-RB-

"I don't want him in my family anymore." Sasuke said stubbornly. Kakashi sighed as Mikoto frowned at her son. Jiraiya knew this meeting would turn to one of drama as soon as he called it, but this was ridiculous.

"It isn't up to you, gaki. It's up to Kakashi and Mikoto, and I don't want here another peep out of you unless I ask you a question." Jiraiya said, and Sasuke went to retort before Mikoto put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head. Sasuke hung his head and nodded.

Jiraiya had offered to annul the marriage Danzo had forced Mikoto and Kakashi into, but it was doubtful that would happen now. Mikoto had confirmed that she was pregnant, and was already two months into the term. He also wanted to talk to them about the future of the Uchiha clan.

"I don't think that would be a good idea at this time, Hokage-sama. If I am going to be a father, I mean to stick with it. I won't abandon my own child like my father did me." Kakashi said, and Mikoto looked relieved. She smiled up at Kakashi, and Jiraiya could tell they were fond of each other by then. Perhaps not in love, but they had a friendship of sorts going. Sasuke looked angrier and went to speak up once again.

_**Smack!**_ Even Jiraiya flinched as Mikoto slapped her son across the face.

"Did I raise you to be selfish, Sasuke? Even if I was not excited about this marriage in the beginning, I have grown fond of Kakashi and he has given you another sibling, maybe one that can make up for Itachi. Kakashi has done nothing but help since he became your step-father and you treat him like he has been beating you! Now stop being a spoiled brat and apologize this instant! You are a shinobi now, grow up!" She scolded. Even Jiraiya winced at the way she tore him down. Sasuke needed it, but it was a blow to his ego, and Jiraiya could sympathize. Sasuke stared at his mother, his hand touching the redness his mother had left on his cheek, before bowing his head.

"I am sorry, Kakashi-san. Please forgive my rudeness." Kakashi smiled under his face mask.

"Mah, mah, no worries, Sasuke-kun. I hope we can be friends in the future." Jiraiya smirked and nodded.

"Alright then. Now that that is settled, you three are dismissed. I need some sake." Jiraiya said, which caused Kakashi and Mikoto to laughed. "Oh, Kakashi? Bring in your team tomorrow. I have a mission for you. A 'C' ranked one." With that, Sasuke looked up and a glimmer of excitement shone in his eyes.

_Yes... a 'C' ranked mission... at least, that's the initial indication. The situation in Nami is much worse than a 'C' ranked mission but we cannot afford to send in too many strong shinobi. Kiri has ended its civil war and, from the looks of things, is going to be on a war path to retake the lands that were taken from them during the war. Too much force might provoke them, so we will have to play this one by ear._

-END-

Alright everyone, I NEED you to review when you get the chance! I function off of reading reviews!

Next time:

_"Genin these days. So green. I had killed dozens of people before I even became a Genin. You are nothing until you are in my bingo book." He called, and took a familiar stance. "Hidden Mist Technique!" He called, causing the area to be flooded in a very thick mist._


	8. Red Sakura Petals

Number 8. I like how well these are coming out. I just hope that my computer doesn't die like the last time I tried to write a FF.

**Hana-Taisho** \- Honour might not be who you think she is.

Don't own Naruto. Never will.

-RB-

"You said you have a bridge back in Nami, Tazuna-san. How long until it is completed?" Sakura asked. Tazuna took a swig of his drink, causing Sakura's eye to twitch. _It's not even noon yet._

"Not long, only a couple of weeks. This bridge is super huge and when it is done, it will bring Nami out of poverty." Tazuna said. Sasuke did the Uchiha 'hnn.'

"Surprising you could afford a mission if your country is so poor." He commented, and Tazuna chuckled.

"We saved for a long time to be able to hire ninja. We've been plagued with bandits and other such since we started the project, so this will allow us to get the project done much quicker." Tazuna said, and Sakura already knew he was lying through his teeth. She saw the puddle of water on the ground, same as last time, and smirked.

"I've never been to a foreign country. Nami doesn't have its own shinobi village, does it?" Sakura asked, and Tazuna shook his head.

"If it did, would I have come all the way to Konoha?" He asked, and they all knew the answer. Suddenly, the puddle burst, and two shinobi had Kakashi in chains in an instant. They tugged, and he burst apart, though Sakura already knew the truth.

"Kaka-sensei!" Naruto cried, at which both Sakura and Sasuke sprung into action. Sasuke launched a kunai and a shuriken, pinning the chain to a tree and lodging it there. Sakura ran and jumped high, bringing her heel down into an axe kick that broke her target's spine. The other charged Tazuna, but Sasuke was there, with his sword out. He deflected the blow and spun, bringing the blade down and cutting the hand off, gauntlet and all. The shinobi screamed and Kakashi appeared, knocking him out.

"The Demon brothers. C-ranked missing nin out of Kirigakure." He commented as he finished off the last one. "Good job, Sakura, Sasuke." He commented, and Sasuke smirked.

"Kaka-sensei, I thought you died!" Naruto exclaimed and Kakashi nodded.

"The trap was rather obvious. It hasn't rained for days, and somehow there is a puddle of water? I used a replacement to see how you three would do." He told them, and Naruto looked down in shame for freezing. "I also did it to see who their target was. Us, or Tazuna-san. Tazuna-san, why is there missing nin after you?" Tazuna looked helpless.

"Nami is so poor, we could not afford a better mission. Like I said, we saved for a long time just to afford this mission. If I die, my daughter and grandson will probably be killed my Gato's thugs." Kakashi frowned.

"Gato, as in the Gato corporation?"

"Yes. He seems like a legitimate businessman to the eye, but he really deals in the slave trade, drugs, and other illegal activities to gain more money. He has Nami locked down in order to ensure that he is the only one gaining profit from the country." Tazuna elaborated. Sakura frowned.

"Gato is easily one of the richest men in the world. If he wants you dead, it will be higher ranked shinobi next time. Probably a jounin." She mused. Kakashi sighed.

"Well, we should turn back now..."

"NO! We have to help them, Kaka-sensei! They are poor and can't do anything to help themselves. Besides, it will look bad on Konoha if we back out now." Naruto exclaimed, and the other two genin nodded. Kakashi nodded slowly.

"Very well then. We will continue. You can't freeze in the next battle, Naruto. Who knows how many there will be next time." Kakashi commented, and Naruto looked ashamed of himself.

"Yeah, scaredy cat. Don't freeze, or you might die." Sasuke commented. Sakura glared at the Uchiha and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"A lot of people freeze in their first battle. You will get over it." She said, and he nodded. They continued on, but Sakura was worried. If Zabuza saw how strong Team Seven was when he came, there would more likely be at least one or two more shinobi with him in the final battle. And that means Gato would have to hire two more, and he would go all out to get the best.

-RB-

Sakura was on edge. This is where Zabuza had attacked them the first time around. She saw Naruto toss a kunai at a rabbit, and she got an idea. Kakashi's eyes widened, and Sakura smirked.

"DUCK!" Kakashi yelled, diving on Tazuna. Everyone but Sakura ducked, who jumped and grabbed the sword flying toward them at high speeds, managing to close her hand around the handle. She swiftly created a water clone, and used it as leverage to slam the sword into the ground. Zabuza appeared on a tree branch not far from him.

"Not bad, kid. I didn't expect anyone to be able to catch that." He said, and Kakashi frowned.

"Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Bloody Mist. A-ranked missing nin out of Kirigakure. Looks like this fight is mine." Kakashi said as he slipped his book into his pouch and lifted his headband, revealing the Sharingan. Sasuke glared at the man.

"Hatake Kakashi, known as the Copy-Cat Ninja, owner of the legendary doujutsu, the Sharingan. Said to have copied over a thousand techniques." Zabuza said with a smirk. "Nice to see you taking me so seriously already."

"You will not kill Tazuna today." Kakashi said as he sunk into a defensive stance. "Formation D!" He called, and the team encircled Tazuna, ready to protect him from anything.

"Genin these days. So green. I had killed dozens of people before I even became a Genin. You are nothing until you are in my bingo book." He called, and took a familiar stance. "Hidden Mist Technique!" He called, causing the area to be flooded in a very thick mist. Kakashi frowned, for not even his Sharingan could pierce the mist. Sakura knew that Zabuza had grabbed his sword as soon as the mist had become thick enough to hide his movements.

"Eight points to kill someone. I am a master of the silent killing style." Zabuza's voice drifted across the battlefield. Sasuke began to shake slightly. "Poor kid is shaking. Are you scared?"

"I'm shaking in anticipation!" Sasuke yelled as he spun and cut through a Zabuza clone. A dozen clones arose from the water around them, and the kids sprung into motion. Naruto extended his hidden blades, spinning and sheathing them into the bellies of two of the clones. Sakura deflected a sword strike with a kunai and spun, slamming her fist into the clone's side. Sasuke cut through a few clones in quick succession, and Kakashi easily dispatched the others.

"Well, these kids are pretty good, Kakashi. Is this what Konoha genin are like now-a-days? I might consider hiring them when I return to Kirigakure." Zabuza chuckled. Kakashi jumped toward where Zabuza was, but the missing nin disappeared before he could reach him. Kakashi looked around and barely blocked a strike from Zabuza. The swordsman chuckled and Kakashi frowned. The clone dissolved into water, and Kakashi cursed as Zabuza delivered a kick to the cyclops, sending him tumbling away. Kakashi came to his feet and backed up from another attack, this time landing on the water.

"Wrong move." A voice behind him said, and Kakashi's eyes widened as he was forced down into a kneeling position by Zabuza's water prison.

"Kaka-sensei!" Naruto cried. Sakura wasn't too worried, however, and Sasuke only frowned.

"You may think you have won, Zabuza, but my team is really good. Sakura is probably stronger than you." He said with a smirk, and Zabuza frowned.

"Like any green genin could be stronger than me. I'll kill that bitch!" Zabuza growled as four water clones came up from the water and took a place in front of the real Zabuza.

"I got this one." Sasuke said, and the other two nodded. Sakura didn't want to show off too much strength before hand, and Zabuza had luckily not seen much in the way of their abilities so far, mainly because of the mist. The clones watched as Sasuke unsheathed his sword, and smirked, before disappearing in a burst of speed. The Zabuza clones went to react, but before they could, they reverted to water. Zabuza seemed stunned at Sasuke's speed, which was easily jounin level. He had to jumped out of the way of Sasuke's sword, releasing Kakashi and causing Zabuza to landed a good ten feet away. Sasuke continued his attack, and the two swordsman clashed for a time.

"You have an advantage. I cannot block your sword, it is too heavy for me to do that. But I have an advantage. You need room to manuever that thing, and I can just get in close!" Sasuke yelled as he launched a close range assault on Zabuza. The jounin was temporarily overwhelmed by the ferocity of Sasuke's attack, but was able to defend himself well enough, before pushing his own. Sasuke grimaced as he was pushed back.

_I'm still not strong enough to take on Itachi._ He thought to himself and gasped as Zabuza knocked his blade away. He couldn't move as the missing nin brought his giant blade down. Sasuke cringed, waiting for the end to come, only to see Naruto standing there, his eyes emblazed in red, his arms crossed above him as he blocked the giant blade with his own blades.

" **Like hell I would let you kill Sasuke!** " Naruto growled, his voice deeper than normal, and pushed Zabuza back.

_This kid is too strong!_ Zabuza thought as he managed to jump back before the blonde could overwhelm him. A series of water clones rose up, and Zabuza smirked as he began to go through hand seals. Sakura noticed Kakashi copying him with his Sharingan.

"Naruto! Get out of the way!" She called as two water dragons rose from the water and crashed into each other. Zabuza and Kakashi began to through another set of hand seals, but Sakura had other plans. She clenched her fist and grinned, appearing behind Zabuza with a burst of speed. Zabuza turned, eyes wide in fear.

" **SHANNARO!** " Sakura yelled as she slammed her fist into Zabuza's cheek. The ex-jounin was sent rocketing away from Sakura, bouncing a couple of times on the ground before slamming into a tree, nearly unconscious with a broken cheekbone. Sakura put up a victory sign. "HELL YEAH! I'M AWESOME!" Naruto's eyes went wide.

"Holy crap! Your strength is monstrous, Sakura-chan!" He called, and Sakura's eye twitch in anger as she turned to him.

"What did you say, Naruto?" She growled out, and Naruto gulped.

"N-nothing, Sakur-" Sasuke snorted, interrupting him.

"He said that you had monstrous strength." Sasuke supplied, and Naruto glared at the Uchiha. Sakura appeared in front of Naruto, who had a look of horror on his face.

"DISAPPEAR!" Sakura yelled as she punch Naruto into the stratosphere. Sasuke looked up, no longer able to see the blonde. He gulped, and Kakashi sweat-dropped.

_Note to self: Don't piss off Sakura._ They both thought at the same time. Kakashi went over to Zabuza, who conscious again and trying to get up.

"You got some pretty strong brats, Kakashi. It is too bad it had to end like this." Zabuza said as he fell back down. Kakashi nodded.

"Find peace in the afterlife, Zabuza." Kakashi said as he took out a kunai and prepared to deliver the killing blow. Suddenly, a few senbon flew out of the trees and hit Zabuza in the neck. A hunter nin descended and grabbed Zabuza's body.

"Thank you for providing a distraction. I have been hunting Zabuza for many days now, and I just needed an opening, one that you provided. I am going to go dispose of the body. Thanks again." The boy said, before Sakura appeared next to him and slammed her foot in the boy's face in a roundhouse kick. He was sent flying and tumbled up to a stop, his mask falling into pieces. "Wh-what was that for?" The boy cried in surprise. Sakura frowned.

"Hunter nin dispose of the body on the spot, and you didn't kill Zabuza. I am well trained in medicine and I know the human body well. You hit him in a spot that will put him into a false death state!" Sakura said accusingly. The boy frowned himself, and backed up slightly.

"You are very smart. It looks like I am going to have to defeat all of you now." The boy said, before a puff of smoke erupted around him and water fell to the ground, Sakura spun to see him grabbing Zabuza and moved to stop him, but the boy was already in the process of using the Body Flicker technique to escape, and Sakura couldn't stop him.

"He created a water clone secretly, had it circle around, replaced himself with it, and escaped with Zabuza. He's good." Sasuke said, and Kakashi nodded, feeling a bit weak from using the Sharingan so much. He put his headband down. It was a good thing Sakura had interfered before Kakashi had finished that last jutsu, because he would have likely collapsed. Naruto finally came down, crashing into the water. When he came up, he looked around.

"What did I miss?"

-RB-

"Zabuza-sama, this team is too strong for us. We should just abandon the mission." The boy said as Zabuza sat up slowly, weak from the near-death state he was in.

"If we abandon the mission, other employers will never hire us. We could convince Gato to hire a couple more shinobi. I know you can take on that Uchiha kid, and I'll have to go one on one with that blondie. Hatake and Pinkie are the two strongest." He commented, and Haku sighed before nodding. It was then that Gato walked in, flanked by two thugs with swords.

"It seems like you are just a baby devil." Gato mocked, and Zabuza glared at his employer.

"This team is comprised of four people of at least jounin strength. One of them is the legendary shinobi Hatake Kakashi. I may be strong, but even I cannot take four jounin at the same time." Zabuza stated, feeling humbled. Gato looked thoughtful. "If you hire a couple more jounin strength shinobi, we could kill that bridge builder." Zabuza stated, and Gato frowned. He made a huge amount of money off of Nami, and he would not let them get away.

"I'm going to get the best shinobi money can buy. Since you have faced against the team, you'll let them know which are the strongest ones." Gato said, and leaned forward. "If you fail me again, you will not get any money, and I'll be sure to let everyone know how much of a failure you are. If you live." Gato said, and left the hideout. Haku glared at the man's retreating form.

"Who do you think he will hire?" Haku asked Zabuza. The Demon of the Mist frowned.

"The best money can buy... He will hire a team from Akatsuki." Zabuza stated, and Haku widened his eyes. Akatsuki were S ranked and came in pairs. They were the strongest missing shinobi group known in the Elemental Nations. He suddenly felt bad for the Konoha team.

-RB-

Kakashi promised that he would train them during the couple weeks they had until Zabuza recovered. Sakura already knew enough water and earth jutsu, her taijutsu surpassed his, she was skilled in genjutsu, and by the time Kakashi had found something he thought he could teach her, he realized she was already skilled in that too. The only thing she lacked in was weapon's techniques, but he wasn't any sort of expert with those. Sakura decided to just work on her fuinjutsu instead of training with the others.

Kakashi took Naruto and decided to teach him water-walking and work on his blade form. With Sasuke, he started working on teaching the boy lightning ninjutsu. He decided that teaching genin, despite their strength, any sort of A ranked ninjutsu would be bad. He would give both of them an A ranked Jutsu upon making chunin. For Naruto, it was his birthright, and for Sasuke, the jutsu fit him so well that the boy almost had a right to it, and if Kakashi could save Sasuke from himself and this ninja world, then he would have repaid Obito.

Sakura had estimated that Zabuza would take about two weeks to heal, so they worked hard. Sakura focused on seals, but without a competant teacher to help her along and point her in the right direction, she didn't have much to work with. Most naturals with fuinjutsu could just create their own seals after learning the basics. Sakura was no natural, but she was competant. Creating seals took a sense of creativity and the willingness to put yourself in danger to test them, which was why Naruto had been so good at them. While Sakura wanted to show this Naruto fuinjutsu, she knew that, should he show any competance in it, people would connect him to the Yondiame, and he wasn't ready for that.

During the two weeks, Sakura relived just how poor and destitute everyone was. It was almost as though she were back in the war. During one dinner at Tazuna's house, his grandson, Inari, copped a fight about how the strong live and the weak die, and everyone who opposed Gato would die. Sakura frowned at that.

"Like hell I am going to die! I can't die until I become Hokage! So stop whining about how your life was so bad, there are others who have had much worse lives!" Naruto yelled at the kid before storming out. Sakura had comforted Inari and told him about Naruto and Sasuke's life. Sakura also spent a great deal of time in the village, healing the sick and wounded. She used this time to talk to the people, to try to convince them that they had to fight back against Gato if they ever wanted change.

She wasn't sure she made any progress in that department. The people were grateful for her medical services but never really acknowledged her inspirational messages. Inari seemed to be the only who changed, when he shot a thug who was harassing his mother at the market with a crossbow. The thug, luckily, died, so he couldn't report back to Gato about the rebellion. She only hoped that Inari inspired the villagers like he had last time.

Finally, the day that Sakura estimated that Zabuza would return came, and the group headed toward the bridge, Tazuna in tow. Naruto had been left behind, since he had trained until he passed out, but he had managed to master water walking. Kakashi had left a note to him, telling him to catch up. Sakura was tense. She knew what was coming, but figured that, should things end up like last time, they had the strength to easily handle this situation.

Like last time, when they showed up to the bridge, the workers were all unconscious. Kakashi had immediately summoned a clone and had it escort Tazuna back to his house.

"Kakashi, I've been waiting for our rematch. And none of these brats will get in the way this time!" Zabuza called as he hefted his giant sword over his shoulder. Next to him stood Haku, though none of the others knew who he was.

"You have your own apprentice. Seems I was right. Sasuke, you take him on." Kakashi nudged the Uchiha forward, who glared at his step-father for half a moment before smirked in confidence about the fight.

"Just give up, you don't have a chance against an Uchiha." Sasuke said confidently as he slid his sword from the sheath. The boy didn't reply, considering Sasuke silently, before charging. Haku was fast, but Sasuke was faster, and he was under the boy before he could react. Kicking him in the stomach, Sasuke spun and sheathed his sword into the boy's gut, only for Haku to burst into water.

Haku leapt out of the water puddle and clashed against Sasuke's sword with his senbon. Sasuke smirked and pressed against the clash.

"I have you at a disadvantage. We are surrounded by water, and you have only one hand." Haku said, and Sasuke frowned.

"As do you." He commented, and Haku went through one handed seals. A large amount of ice needles formed, aiming at the Uchiha. Kakashi's eye widened.

"A kekkai genkai. Things are more serious than I would have thought." He said softly, though Sakura could still hear him. Sasuke disappeared, dodging the needles and tossing a kunai to cover his retreat. Haku was forced to dodge to the side, and Zabuza stopped his apprentice from continuing.

"He had you beat in speed, as you are." He commented, and Haku nodded. Forming a strange handseal, a dome of ice formed around Sasuke, and Haku slipped into one of the mirrors. Unlike last time, Sakura was confident that Sasuke would be able to defeat Haku, especially considering that he would not have to protect Naruto. Zabuza smirked. "Now your brat is dead. In that jutsu, Haku could probably beat me." Kakashi frowned but knew he couldn't help, especially with two more chakra signatures closing in. Another was coming in from behind them, but he knew that was Naruto.

"Gato hired more?" Kakashi asked, and Zabuza sighed and nodded.

"He didn't think I could get the job done. I was looking forward to a rematch, Kakashi, but these guys are on a whole 'nother level." Zabuza said, and from the mist stepped two people Sakura hoped she wouldn't have to see for a very long time.

The one on the right had blonde hair pulled back into a pony-tail, a weird device on his left eye. He was wearing a large black cloak with red clouds on it. He smirked and held up a hand, which a mouth was attached to. His partner was shorter, stooped over as though he was a hunchback. He wore a black bandana over his face, and his hair was back in black braids. A tail was trailing from his cloak, similar to his partners. Sakura's eyes widened and her mouth fell open. It was Sasori and Deidara.

Kakashi tensed at the sight of these. He didn't know who they were, but they were high level, probably at least his own level. Naruto landed next to Kakashi, frowning.

"Who are these clowns?" He asked, and Deidara raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, oh! This is the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. He looks pretty tough for a kid." Deidara commented. Sasori simply grunted, and the Konoha team tensed. Kakashi and Naruto were wondering how they knew this, but Sakura was simply worried.

"Naruto, you take Zabuza. If you use your special chakra, you should be able to beat him! Kakashi-sensei, take the blonde one. Get him out of the area first, he's an explosives expert. I'll take the hunchback." She said, and the other two nodded. Kakashi questioned how Sakura knew these things, but it would be something he would address later. Zabuza charged, and Naruto back peddled, taking the fight away from the ice dome. Kakashi appeared in frontof Deidara, grabbing him and using the shunshin to teleport them both out of the area. Sakura turned to Sasori.

"Oh. It appears I am being under-estimated. I doubt a little girl like you could defeat my master works of art." He asked, and Sakura smirked.

"Do you have the Sandiame Kazekage as a puppet still? I was hoping to crush it to smithereens." Sasori seemed put off by this, and his tail lashed out at the pink haired kunoichi.

-(Fights are seperated from here on.)-

Sasuke had sheathed his sword in favor of a kunai. The senbon were coming in too quickly for the weight of his sword to block them all. He couldn't do much, but he was slowly adjusting to the boy's speed. Haku was faster than anything he had ever encountered before, and he was unsure of how to counter it.

Another barrage of senbon came forward, and Sasuke jumped to the side, deflecting the following barrage with his kunai. He knew this would be a defensive battle, one he would lose unless he managed to find a strategy.

Each time Haku passed between the mirrors, Sasuke could see a little clearer. He wondered if his eyes were beginning to change into the Sharingan. Another barrage of senbon, but he managed to deflect the needles. He wondered if he needed to go full out, but he realized that it would do him no good if he couldn't see the boy.

"You should just give in. No one can beat me while I am in my mirrors." He said, and Sasuke smirked.

"Please. I am an Uchiha, I could deal with your speed easily." Sasuke lied. The boy just stared at him, his mask firmly in place.

"Then why haven't you?" He asked, and Sasuke scoffed.

"A shinobi waits for the right moment. It would be futile to attack you if I can't finish you off right away." Sasuke half-lied, and Haku blurred in speed, tossing another barrage of senbon. Sasuke could see the trail he was leaving behind in his speed, but it was getting clearer by the moment. He just needed to stall.

-Naruto-

"Kid, you are way out of your league." Zabuza said, and Naruto just glared. The ex-mist nin charged the blonde, raising his sword and bringing it down in a crushing blow. Naruto darted to the side and swung at Zabuza, his blade popping out of his bracer. Zabuza ducked and kicked the blonde in the stomach, sending him spiraling backwards. Naruto slid to a stop, grimacing.

He knew Zabuza would destroy him long range, and he didn't have much chance close range. His only chance was the Kyuubi chakra. His eyes changed slowly from blue to red, his canines elongated, and his whisker marks became more pronounced. His nails lengthened into claws, and he sunk down into a more feral stance. Zabuza's eyes widened. This was the same way the brat looked when he had managed to drive him back in the first fight.

Naruto charged, and Zabuza was surprised at how much faster he was. He brought his blade into a horizontal chop, but Naruto ducked under it and slashed at Zabuza's legs. The bigger man managed to jump back before he was hit, and tossed a few shuriken to cover his retreat. Naruto simply blurred from view and appeared above Zabuza, bringing his blades down. Zabuza managed to block somehow, but the strength of the blow made his knees buckle, and he was forced to roll away. Zabuza growled and knew he had no chance at close range.

He put his hands up into a familiar stance.

"Hidden Mist Technique!"

-Kakashi-

As soon as they appeared in the forest outside of the village of Nami, Kakashi had to jump back from the exploding clay that was sent his way.

"Smart girl, sending me away from the bridge. My art can be quite... destructive, yeah." Deidara said as he reached into his pouch and released a dozen birds made of the same clay. Kakashi began to run, and he knew at this point that Deidara was a ranged fighter. He would have to bring it close to win, and that would be the hard part. Kakashi pinned the clay to the trees with kunai, but more kept coming, and Deidara was following him on a giant clay bird, collecting his clay that hadn't exploded yet.

"You know, your form of fighting is quite frustrating." Kakashi said loud enough for Deidara to hear. The man smirked and kept up the barrage of explosives. Kakashi seemed to trip up, slowing down slightly, allowing the clay to cover him as Deidara grinned.

"ART IS A BANG! KATSU!" He cried, and the explosion produced a great deal of smoke, but only revealed a log in Kakashi's place. Deidara immediately went higher, looking for the silver haired ninja. He was no where to be seen, and Deidara wondered just how the man had managed to hide so well. As he kept looking, he wondered whether to head back to the bridge or not.

-Sakura-

Sakura ducked right, letting the tail brush past her as she charged. She probably wasn't a match for Sasori as of yet, but she would be damned if she let him win easily. She had the advantage of knowing just how he fought and what jutsu he could do. She would try to play that completely, but Sasori was a genius and she would still be hard pressed to beat him.

"I should feel insulted, making me fight a little girl, but I have heard that your team is strong. Let's see just how far you can push me." Sasori commented as he jumped away from Sakura's blow, his tail lashing out once more. Sakura spun around it, go through hand seals at frightening speeds.

"Water Release: Water Fang Bullet." She whispered as drills of water shot out at the puppet master. Sasori dodged most of them, but one hit him in the back, knocking him forward. Sakura used this opportunity to charge, ducking under another tail attack. She neared Sasori, winding up her fist for a heavy blow. Sasori seemed unworried, until the fist made contact with the puppet.

The outer shell of the puppet shattered into pieces, and the real Sasori jumped out. He frowned at the girl but revealed nothing more.

"Impressive strength. You destroyed Hiruko. He was one of my favorites." Sasori said as he whipped out a scroll. "That gives me a chance to play with another one I haven't been able to lately. Prepare to meet the Sandiame Kazekage." He said, releasing the seal on the scroll and bringing out the puppet. Sakura smirked at having made the puppet master bring out his best toy so soon. "Don't get too cocky. I have never been defeated once outside of Hiruko, so now you are doomed."

Sakura frowned, and jumped back when the Iron Sand of the Sandiame Kazekage began to flying to the air. She had managed to get past the Iron Sand last time, but that was with the help of Chiyo. She wasn't entirely sure she could defeat Sasori by herself yet, but she would try, and she would keep him from the other battles. The spikes of the iron sand shot at her, and she managed to roll out of the way. As she came up, she began using hand seals.

"Water style: Water dragon jutsu!" She cried, as a giant dragon made of water rose from the sea. The sheer size of the dragon made Sasori's eyes widen slightly, but he reacted quickly. Using the iron sand as a shield, he diverted the dragon away from himself. When he turned back to Sakura, there were a dozen of her rushing at him. He wasn't sure which was the real one, so he barraged the whole area with Iron Sand. The clones all disappeared, and there wasn't any sign of the girl.

Until he looked down and saw a puddle of water at his feet. She rosed from the puddle, aiming not for him, but for the Sandiame Kazekage. Sasori knew the puppet would not escape, but he would make her pay for it. Perhaps even turn her into a puppet.

Sakura slammed a fist into the puppet's chest, even as the iron sand pierced her stomach. The puppet shattered into pieces, and Sakura coughed blood. Sasori kicked the girl away.

"Foolish girl. Did you honestly think you had a chance against me?" Sasori commented as Sakura struggled to her knees. The wound wasn't immediately fatal, but she would die if she didn't stop the bleeding soon. She felt Sasori grip her hair, and tears began to run down her cheeks. It wasn't fair. She had come back, trained so hard, gone through so much, and yet... she was going to die before it even began. She should have never let the team show their skills off. "Though I do commend you for pushing me this far. A mere child such as yourself... you would have been legendary." Sasori gloated.

She glanced up at Sasori, and saw his smirk. She couldn't let this happen.

"This... I can't... NO!" She yelled, as she slowly stood. Sasori's surprised expression was not lost on her. "I HAVE COME TOO FAR FOR YOU TO KILL ME HERE!" Her rage grew with each passing word, and she felt angrier than she ever had in the past. Her stomach began to burn and the world went red.

-Kakashi-

Kakashi hung from the bottom of the clay bird, waiting for his chance to strike at Deidara. He had managed to appear under the blonde Akatsuki member with his replacement technique, and used chakra to cling to the bird. He was quite surprised that the explosive expert had yet to notice, but things were certainly going his way. He prepared to swing up, to catch the man by surprise.

As he was about to do so, he felt a chakra, combined with a killing intent he hadn't felt for twelve years.

_The Kyuubi! Is it breaking free from Naruto? No, it is still withheld, but it is leaking chakra._ He thought as Deidara sailed over the bridge. He saw some sort of red aura erupting from the mist, and the mist cleared, revealing the person responsible. Kakashi couldn't see from there, so he turned his head and lifted the headband covering his Sharingan. Down below was Sakura, covered in red chakra, charging at an unknown man.

Kakashi's eyes widened, and his only thought was ' _What the fuck?'_

-(end)-

I'm really not happy with how I wrote the ending, but I can't think of anything better. Read and Review and lemme know what you think.

Next Time

_"I guess I can't keep it a secret anymore." She said quietly. The other two perked up and Kakashi looked deadly serious._

_"What secret?" He asked, and Sakura nodded._

_"The Yondiame managed to seal the Kyuubi, but he could not seal the entire thing into Naruto since it was at full power. He instead sealed half into another child... me."_


	9. Nine Times Two

The last one was a big reveal, and there are sure to be a lot of questions about how and why the Kyuubi is sealed within Sakura. Everything will be explained in time.

This is the longest chapter to date.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Here's an early chapter as a present. I will also be posting on Sunday.

As per usual, I don't own Naruto.

-RB-

-Naruto-

A shockwave of energy knocked Zabuza away from the finishing blow. Naruto heaved in breath after breath, exhausted from fighting the Kiri missing-nin for so long. Naruto knew he had the advantage in strength and speed, but the mist more than made up for that. Naruto had been on the defensive since Zabuza had activated his mist, and he was almost just killed as Zabuza surprised him from behind with a vertical swing of his sword.

The shockwave had knocked Zabuza off balance, and let Naruto spin and kick the ex-kiri-nin in the chest, sending him stumbling back into the mist. Naruto felt the Kyuubi stir within him. He flashed down into his mindscape for a moment.

"What's wrong?" He asked, and the Kyuubi growled at him.

**"That's MY chakra someone is using! I can't tell where it's coming from, but it's my chakra! How is that possible!?"** The Kyuubi cried as it slammed against the seal. Naruto returned to reality with that thought in mind. Someone else was using the Kyuubi's chakra? He couldn't be detracted from the fight, but he would find out who was using the chakra soon enough.

"Well, Zabuza, as much as I have enjoyed fighting you, I have better things to do now. I'm going to end this fight." Naruto said, and Zabuza laughed. The laughter echoed across the mist, an effect that annoyed the blonde genin to no end.

"Oh really, brat? You think you can kill me so easily? You have been lucky to escape with your life so far." Naruto grunted at the truth of that. His skills were good for a genin, hell, he might have been low-jounin level thanks to the genius that was Sakura, but Zabuza had years of experience on his side and he could nearly perfectly counter Naruto's advantages with the mist of his.

"Luck and training, mostly." Naruto grimaced as he barely rolled away from another attack from the massive sword. "It looks like I don't have a choice here," he said to himself, and looked deep inside.

_Oi, Kyuubi! If you don't wanna die, give me some more chakra!_

**"Brat! YOU DARE TALK TO THE KYUUBI THAT WAY! I-"** Naruto sighed.

_Yeah yeah, are you gonna help or not?_ Naruto didn't hear a response but the sudden flood of chakra answered his question. He felt his first tail begin to form, and he settled into a crouch as the chakra began to solidify around him. There was a sharp hiss of steam as his sweat evaporated under the heat of the chakra. Two fox ear like portrustions of chakra formed around his head, a chakra claw formed over each hand, and a tail of chakra extended out from his backside.

"Jinchuuriki, huh?" Zabuza muttered, cursing his luck. Jinchurriki were some of the worst opponents to fight. He would know. Naruto let out a roar and shot forward at a speed much faster than he previously showed. Zabuza was unable to react as a chakra fist slammed into his chest, sending him tumbling violently across the bridge. He slammed into a railing, feeling his back break from the impact. He cried out in pain and collapsed, unable to move.

**"Now be a good demon and stay there! I have a date with whoever is using the Kyuubi's chakra..."** Naruto jumped off, and Zabuza questioned his luck. Of course he had been put against a prodigy team like this one. The great Bloody Demon of the Mist, defeated by a green genin. Such was his life.

-Sasuke-

Sasuke grit his teeth as another barrage of senbon hit him. He managed to deflect the needles aimed at his vital organs, but a few slipped past and hit his arms and legs. He fell to a knee, heaving in breath after breath.

"You are very skilled, but I am afraid that you are no match for me while I am in this form." Haku stated as he slipped into the next mirror. Sasuke just pulled the needles out of his body slowly, to avoid damage.

_I saw him that time._ Sasuke thought to himself as his now-red eyes glared back at the boy.

"Sharingan..." Haku whispered, though Sasuke heard him. So he HAD awakened his doujutsu. Excellent. He just needed to muster the willpower to kill this annoying kid and go help the others. Haku jumped from the next mirror, and Sasuke saw it clearly. He went through handseals in quick succession.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" He called, and the fireball shot toward Haku. The masked boy saw it coming, and moved out of the way just in time, though the hem of his robe caught fire. He slipped into the next mirror, and the fire went out, but Sasuke smirked. He had hit the bastard.

"You can see my movements, but can you react to them?" Haku asked as he started another barrage. Sasuke weaved through the needles and leapt up, intercepting Haku before he managed to make it to his mirror. The Hyoton user seemed surprised, and Sasuke used this to his advantage. He grabbed the boy by his forearm, and smirked as he began to use one-handed seals, something that he had worked hard to master in the last couple of weeks since he had seen the effeminate boy do it himself.

"Raiton: Bakurai!" The Uchiha called, and sent a large current of electricity through the effeminate boy's body. Haku screamed in pain as the electricity overrode his brain functions and began to cook his organs. Sasuke brought his sword out and around, and positioned his sword so that it ran Haku through the stomach as they landed on the ground below the mirrors, Sasuke mounted on Haku's chest. Haku coughed blood as his mask fell off.

"Y...you defeated me. I-I guess I can not be of use to Zabuza-sama any longer. I tried and failed. I guess he was right. I am too soft." Haku whispered, and Sasuke removed his sword, flicking the blood off the blade, and sliding it into it's sheath.

"You have compassion. You just never tempered it with duty. I will not kill you here, because there are bigger fish to fry, and because I do not kill helpless opponents." Sasuke watched as the mirrors melted away, and turned to investigate the source of the massive killing intent he felt.

-Kakashi-

Kakashi had to file the fact that Sakura was using the Kyuubi's chakra somehow away in his mind while he dealt with the blonde above him. He was still hanging underneath the bird of clay. Using his chakra, Kakashi swung around and landed on the bird behind the Akatsuki member that was Deidara. The blonde turned to him, annoyed.

"You survived, eh? Pretty good for a Konoha nin. Maybe I'll have to take you a bit more seriously, yeah." He said, but Kakashi had already jumped off the bird.

"You aren't the only one with explosives. Katsu!" Kakashi called, and the burning tags on the bottom of the bird exploded, sending Deidara flying away. The ex-Iwa nin landed in the ocean just after Kakashi did, and forced himself to the water's surface. He spit out a mouthful of water and glared at the cyclops across from him.

"That was pretty clever, but it makes no difference, yeah." Deidara reached into his clay pouch and took enough clay to make another bird. As he molded it, he noticed it wouldn't stay in shape. His eyes went wide.

_The water must have damaged the clay!_ He turned when he heard a loud chirping noise, like hundreds of birds chirping at the same time. He saw lightning chakra crackling from Kakashi's hand, sending dozens of currents of electricity into the water. Deidara began to back-pedal, but Kakashi was faster, sprinting at him with the ball of electricity. He only had one hope. He began to raise his hand in an offensive motion when Kakashi erupted into a cloud of smoke, and Deidara felt a massive pain shoot through his right shoulder as he turned. He looked down to see Kakashi's hand sticking out of his right shoulder from behind, and he cursed.

"Fuck! That hurts, you bastard! I need these arms, yeah." He growled, and Kakashi removed his hand before flipping away. Deidara glared at the silver-haired jounin but heard a signal. "You were lucky this time, Hatake! Next time we meet, I'll make you explode!" He called, and disappeared in the tell-tale smoke cover of a body flicker. Kakashi sighed and slipped his headband down over his Sharingan, heaving in exhaustion.

_I can only hope the others have done as well._

-Sasori-

Sasori was knocked back by the shockwave, sending tumbling across the bridge. He rolled up and slid to his feet, eyes wide at the energy.

_This chakra... this is a jinchuuriki's power. I thought the blonde was the jinchuuriki._ He thought to himself as the wounds on Sakura's body began to heal slowly. She turned toward him slowly, and Sasori cursed and summoned his Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets. Sakura shot toward him in a blur, and he barely stepped to the side as a fist shot past him. He knocked her away with his shoulder, but she tumbled to her feet and was already on him by the time he brought his puppets down.

_This girl... she might be stronger than me._ Sasori ducked another punch and a barrage of poisoned senbon flew toward the pink-haired medic. Sakura let loose a roar, and the senbon were all deflected. Sasori looked on impassively, but he was quite annoyed with this genin who was beating him, an S ranked criminal.

"You have quite the power boost hidden there, don't you?" He mocked and all of his puppets rushed her. Sakura jumped away, but the mass of puppets consumed her. Sasori was confident one of the blows had finished her off, until she burst through the mass untouched. He began to jump back, but she was too quick. She aimed at his chest, but he was able to partially dodge the attack. With a swift punch, she knocked off Sasori's arm, limiting his puppet controlling ability to nearly half. He managed to use a Replacement at the last moment as she came around for the second blow.

Sasori landed on the railing of a bridge, watching as the puppet he had switched with exploded in a mass of splinters. The pink-haired berserker was already running at him, and Sasori knew he could not win this battle. He could, however, relay the strength of this team to his superiors. In a puff of smoke, his puppets disappeared, and just as the girl reached him, Sasori disappeared in a blur, the result of a body flicker, sending a signal to Deidara to retreat

_I will not underestimate you next time, Haruno Sakura._

-RB-

The uncontrollable rage overtook her in an instant. In a red haze, Sakura was unsure of who was friend and who was foe. The rage that she knew wasn't quite her own ensured that everything she saw before her was seen as hostile.

_Wha... What's happening to me? I feel it deep within, and yet, it feels like it's just beneath my skin. I feel... like an animal... a monster... *_

It was dark. She wasn't quite sure where she was or what had happened. She remembered getting angry, so angry that Sasori had defeated her despite all of her efforts to be stronger. She had worked hard to change things and yet things were spiraling out of control already. Akatsuki had shown up at their first mission. She had been defeated by Sasori so easily. She realized just how much of the original battle with the man had been Chiyo now.

Everything hurt. The red haze caused her immense pain, and it was vaguely familiar. She couldn't place it, though, through the pain. It was originating from her stomach, and all she knew was that the pain made her hypersensitive to the world around her. She was able to detect the slightest movements of the air, the faintest whistling of an attack. _Is this how Sasuke feels with his Sharingan?_ She thought, but realized it was more than just sight. It was as though she had a seventh sense, beyond the basic five and the ability to sense chakra.

Sakura knew that, whatever was happening to her, it wasn't natural.

-RB-

Naruto grimaced as Sakura let out an inhuman roar. He was an Uzumaki, and Sakura had told him that his body was well-suited for holding a bijuu because he could resist the negative side-effects of their chakra. His stamina and will-power allowed him certain control over the pure malice of the Kyuubi's chakra. Sakura, however, had no such immunity, and even at the base form, she was being overwhelmed.

He had to do something, but Sakura was stronger than he was even when he used his own Kyuubi chakra. He hated to think of the power boost she was getting now. He would have to use more of the Kyuubi's chakra. He would have to push past one tailed form. He had only done it once at Sakura's urging, to get him to get used to it, but anything past one tail, and he started to lose control. He had one distinct advantage, and that was that Sakura wouldn't be able to use strategies to defeat him.

Naruto pushed the Kyuubi for chakra, and immediately felt the malice and power rush into his body.

_Not enough. I need more!_ He thought, gritting his teeth.

_**Watch who you are talking to, brat! Very well, but only because I don't want ANYONE else using MY chakra!**_ The Kyuubi replied, and Naruto crouched down as the power push through his body. The chakra became a cloak, and another tail formed behind him.

Kakashi watched as Naruto pushed past anything he had ever seen the boy use. The amount of power was amazing. Kakashi shielded his eye as Naruto's fox cloak solidified and he knew that the true power of the Kyuubi was within this boy's reach.

_If he could control all of the Kyuubi's chakra... he would be unstoppable._ Kakashi thought. He knew that Sakura was going out of control. She had already punched out two clones of Naruto's when they got near, and she seemed to be seeking new targets. As tired as he was, he knew he might have to fight a super-powered Sakura.

_At least she won't be using jutsu in that state_. He thought to himself as he began to form handseals.

-RB-

The power that was emanating from both Naruto and Sakura made him jealous, for he knew such ridiculous power was beyond his grasp. The Uchiha were the best of the shinobi, but these two were something more than shinobi. Sasuke felt his hand tremble as Naruto's fox cloak hissed and became solid. What he would give for that power, it would be worth almost any price.

Almost any. He pulled his sword as Sakura came charging at him. He didn't want to hurt his friend, but she was stronger than him when she was normal. With this chakra, he doubted he could hold out long unless he was serious, even with the Sharingan. He ducked her first blow and went to kicked her away, but he was surprised that she was already on him. Even with his Sharingan, she was too fast for him to react to. He was barely able to pull off a substitution in time before her blow came down. The log exploded into splinters, and Sasuke knew he had barely escaped with his life.

His hand was shaking. He was scared. This power was inhuman, it was the stuff of nightmares. He had seen Naruto use it before, but compared to this, it was like the lapping of the pond compared to the raging tsunami. The hate and anger in the air was making him choke. He landed on the underside of the bridge, and knew he couldn't venture out again.

_Itachi... have you seen this power? Have you tested yourself against it yet?_ He thought.

-RB-

Naruto sent a chakra claw at Sakura, who spun out of the way and roared as she charged him. He jumped out of the way of her blow and struck with one of his tails, knocking her away. She was on her feet in an instant and on him again. He blocked a blow with his tails and sent a blow toward her gut, but Sakura was too fast. She spun around and connected with a kick into his shoulder.

Even with his tails and his arm to soften the blow, it still hurt. He knew he couldn't take a shot straight on, so he would have to play smart. Jumping in the air, he knew she would follow. He had the advantage in the air. He sent to chakra claws at her from either side. He managed to grab her, and slammed her into the bridge below. He put all of his power into holding her still.

" **SAKURA! You have to calm down!** " He said futiley, knowing that reaching the girl within the beast was impossible. She broke free of his arms and jumped toward him, just to be hit with a water dragon. She was slammed against the side of the bridge, and her head smashed into the railing, knocking her out. Naruto heaved in breaths as he let the Kyuubi's chakra go.

"Good one, Kakashi-sensei!"

-RB-

Sakura awoke with a gasp. Her skin hurt all around her body and her stomach was in a large amount of pain. She sat up slowly, wincing in pain. She saw Kakashi laying on the floor next to her, asleep as well. The others were not in the room, but she thought she heard Naruto talking in the next room. She grimaced as her stomach sent out a bolt of pain, and stood woozily from the bed.

_What happened to me?_ She didn't remember much about the bridge. She remembered engaging Sasori, and nearly losing. Apparently she had survived somehow, though, since she was here. _Or perhaps this is heaven._ She discounted that theory, since she wouldn't be in Wave if she were in heaven. She leaned against the wall, exhausted just by standing. Whatever had happened to her had really taken it out of her. She looked up at the sound of the door and saw Tsunami peeking in, smiling.

"Oh, Sakura-san, you shouldn't be up already. You went through quite an ordeal. You need to rest." Tsunami told her as she helped her back to the bed. Sakura agreed reluctantly, since she couldn't even muster enough chakra to heal the superficial bruises she could feel around her body. Kakashi's eye snapped open and he stood immediately.

"Ah, Sakura, glad to see you awake. You gave us quite the scare." He said, his lonely eye smiling at her. She could see that there was something hidden underneath that, and she frowned.

Suddenly, Naruto and Sasuke burst in, Naruto yelling loudly.

"SAKURA-CHAN! You're awake!" He yelled as he sat on the bed next to her. She smacked him on the head.

"NARUTO! STOP YELLING!" She yelled, and the other two members of Team Seven chuckled.

"Still the same old Sakura. Tsunami, could you leave the room, I have something important to discuss with my students." He asked, and the woman smiled and nodded, backing out of the room quickly. Kakashi's smiled dropped and he sighed.

"Since all of you know about the Kyuubi, I think this is a safe question. Sakura, how in the hell do you have the Kyuubi's chakra inside of you?" Kakashi asked, and Sakura's eyes widened.

"What? I have the Kyuubi's chakra?" The surprise in her voice was genuine, and Kakashi nodded.

"You went berserk against that cloaked guy on the bridge. When he fled, you attacked Sasuke and Naruto. It took Naruto going into the two-tail form and my own jutsu to knock you out." He said, and Sakura felt terrible. Was this how her Naruto had felt when he had hurt her accidently? Kakashi wasn't finished though, "When I was looking for wounds, there was a seal on your stomach, a replica of Naruto's with another layer on top of it so complex that I doubt even the Fourth could have deciphered it." Kakashi told them. Sakura remembered what the older Naruto had said the last time they met.

_"Sakura-chan, I forgot! My Kurama didn't come in here with me! I don't know where he ended up! My seal isn't even on me! Look for one of the others, and hope to Kami that Tobi didn't come back with Kurama in his gut!"_ Sakura frowned. Maybe the bijuu had somehow transferred to her? Was that even possible? Maybe she just received his chakra.

_If only I could be so lucky._ She thought. She had to make up a story somehow. She remembered hearing that the Yondiame had split the Kyuubi into two and sealed half inside himself. She let loose an exaggerated sigh.

"I guess I can't keep it a secret anymore." She said quietly. The other two perked up and Kakashi looked deadly serious.

"What secret?" He asked, and Sakura nodded.

"The Yondiame managed to seal the Kyuubi, but he could not seal the entire thing into Naruto since it was at full power. He instead sealed half into another child... me." She lied through her teeth. Kakashi looked suspicious and Naruto and Sasuke both looked very surprised.

"So that's how you got so strong..." Sasuke whispered barely loud enough for Sakura to hear, and Sakura found enough energy to grab him by the scruff of the neck and pull him close, her face in a murderous scowl.

"NO! I EARNED my strength. I fought for every FUCKING ounce of it and I will NOT let it get attributed to a demon's chakra in my gut." She growled, and Sasuke gulped and nodded. Naruto was smirking at that.

"Ya hear that, teme? Now you can't blame my strength on the Kyuubi anymore!" Naruto gloated, and Sasuke smirked.

"Heh, says who? The only time you can come even close to me is with it so I'm gonna give it the credit on your account. Especially now that I have the Sharingan." Sasuke gloated right back. Naruto began to protest and Sakura smiled.

_He unlocked the Sharingan at the same time in this round as well._ She thought.

"Does anyone else know about this?" Kakashi asked, and Sakura read him like a book.

"You mean, can anyone else confirm the story? Yes, Hokage-sama can." She said, knowing she was betting a lot on Jiraiya helping her out. Kakashi nodded but seemed to be suspicious still. Naruto grinned.

"So, since we both have half of the Kyuubi, I guess we should make it whole, eh, Sakura?" He said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. Sakura growled.

"LIKE HELL!" She yelled, and punched him, although her lack of chakra meant he barely stumbled away. Kakashi chuckled.

"You seem to have recovered your strength some." He commented. Sakura glanced at Kakashi and nodded. She didn't have any of her soldier pills on her, or she would have recovered much quicker. She was conflicted. She knew that, later in life, Kakashi was one of the people should could trust most in the world behind maybe Naruto and Ino. However, she didn't know if she could trust him with her origins at the current time. She knew that he would only get more suspicious as time went on. She was much too strong and knew too much, even for a prodigy.

"Kakashi-sensei... can we talk, in private?" She asked, and the two boys stopped their arguing. Kakashi nodded, and turned to the boys.

"Give me and Sakura a moment, boys. Go out and spar or something." He said, apathetic as usual. Naruto nodded and bounded out of the room. Sasuke glared suspiciously for a moment but nodded and left. Kakashi turned toward his pink-haired 'student' and raised his brow. "What is this about?" He asked, and Sakura sighed.

"Hold on." She got out of bed, and rummaged through her pack. She noticed at that time that she was in her night gown. Kakashi chuckled at the peeved look on her face.

"Tsunami-san changed you into your night gown." He answered her unspoken question. Sakura nodded, looking relieved, and found what she was looking for. She pulled out a pre-made seal and slapped one on the door.

"Seal!" She yelled, and all of the ambient noise cut out immediately. Kakashi rose an eyebrow. She grinned. "Privacy seal, to keep a certain brooding Uchiha and our favorite blonde from eave's dropping." Kakashi chuckled but nodded. The seal wasn't terribly uncommon, most jounin knew it. Sakura started to begin a henge technique, but stopped suddenly. "Let me reintroduce myself."

"My name Haruno Sakura, age 21, head of the medical division of the United Shinobi Forces, an alliance of all the villages to fight against the group Akatsuki and its army during the Fourth Great Shinobi War. After the the fall of the USF, myself and a handful of survivors evaded capture and created a seal to send a few of us back in time." She said, and Kakashi stared at her as though she were crazy, which was excusable, considering she would not have believed it either.

"For proof, I'll show you what I looked like in the other timeline." She drew her hands into a tiger seal, and channeled chakra. Her body slowly transformed into an older version of herself. Her arms lengthened, her legs grew, she became more womanly. Her hair got a little longer, but not much, reaching down to the middle of her neck. Her eyes grew a little darker, but still maintained the green luster.

Sakura had been blessed with long legs, but cursed with a weak bust. She wasn't flat, but tended to hover in the mid B-cup range. The exotic, fine pink hair that was growing on her legs confirmed his suspicion that she was a natural pinkie. She had toned legs, good hips, a flat, toned stomach, and well-developed back and shoulder, a slender neck, and a perfectly oval-shaped face, which she seemed to have grown into. Overall, she was rather beautiful, if Kakashi were asked his opinion.

"Naruto's transformation was solid, and is in this timeline. Eventually he realized that and I managed to figure out how he did it." Sakura said, and Kakashi snapped out of his perverted dreams. "It's sort of a real transformation. However, if I run out of chakra, I revert, and it takes a lot of chakra, more than the normal transformation, so it isn't efficient to use it much. So sensei, are you ready to learn the reason I came back from the future?" She asked, her old jounin clothes reappearing on her body as she finished the technique.

Kakashi sat on his bed once more. "Sounds fine to me." Kakashi said, and Sakura nodded. She went on to explain their genin time, emphasizing points such as the Uchiha Massacre 1.0, the Godiame Hokage 1.0, The Chunin Exams... 1.0. Everything that was important to the end result was told in detail, and after a couple of hours, she had finished telling the story behind her jaunt into the past, ensuring to tell him about Kurama and the accident that caused him to be sealed in her stomach.

"So Obito is still alive... and he went bad. You are saying I am the only chance you have of defeating him?" He asked, and Sakura shook her head.

"I wouldn't leave our chances on one person. When you got enough chakra to use the Mangekyou repeatedly, the original plan was for Naruto and me to study the jutsu and create a seal to counter Obito's version. However, Naruto's complications messed everyone's journey back but mine. You have seen the kunoichi Honour. I'm pretty sure she was one of the ones to come back, but her whole body came back instead of just her spirit. I'm suspicious of Shikamaru, but he doesn't seem to be mature all the time, so maybe he fused with his younger self." Shikamaru had showed more motivation than she had ever seen in the original timeline except for after Ino had died.

"Naruto ended up the worst, only having a limited amount of time in a seal inside his younger self, but he made a bunch of seals that will allow our Naruto to become much more powerful at a younger age, so maybe we can make some necessary changes." Sakura explained. Kakashi nodded, looking thoughtful.

"You plan on ambushing Orochimaru, don't you?" He asked. Sakura nodded.

"I believe the three of us could defeat him. I need you to fib about our mission here, and we are going to hide our abilities once back in Konoha until the second exam. I don't want his spy, Kabuto, letting Orochimaru know of our true abilities. However, with this last mission, I fear this may be impossible. With Akatsuki knowing much of the extent of our abilities, Orochimaru and his own spies might find out before we manage to face him. If he finds out just how strong we are, he will either avoid direct confrontation with the whole team and just go after Sasuke, or he'll bring some friends. Either way, it will be bad for us." She told him. Kakashi nodded his agreement.

"Sasuke isn't at Orochimaru's level yet, so getting him alone would be his best bet. When you used that chakra, you were able to defeat Sasori of the Red Sands, a notorious criminal from Sunagakure that is rumored to have started the last war." He said. "With that power, I believe you could overpower Orochimaru." Kakashi concluded. Sakura shook her head in disagreement.

"Orochimaru's fighting style is too slippery and deceiving to be defeated by pure power. Sasori over-powers opponents, which is why I defeated him, but Orochimaru is all about surprise attacks and tricks, so killing him is nearly impossible unless by surprise. If I am to take him out, it needs to be by complete surprise." She explained. Kakashi sighed.

"This is a lot to believe on faith, Sakura. It was easier believing you were simply a prodigy genin." He said, and Sakura chuckled.

"Yes, well, for now, I AM simply a prodigy genin, at least, to the world I am. I plan to reveal a lot more as times approach, but I don't know how much of my knowledge is relevant anymore." She said. Kakashi gave her a puzzled look, and she raised a brow.

"Itachi only spared Sasuke in the original timeline. The Sandiame was still Hokage during this mission. Danzo was simply an adviser, and still old. The Godiame Hokage in my time was Tsunade, not Jiraiya." She explained, and Kakashi nodded. With such drastic changes, it was no wonder that her knowledge might not have much relevance anymore.

"Well, I will confirm this with Hokage-sama, but your story rings of truth. For now, I want you to keep me in the loop about things, and when the time comes, I believe we can strike the needed targets and change the destiny of this world." Kakashi said quietly. Sakura grinned.

"Anyway, what happened after I passed out?" Sakura asked, mostly wondering if Gato showed up. Kakashi scratched the back of his head.

"Well, Gato showed up with a small army of thugs to try kill us. That didn't go well for him. Naruto and I summoned several dozen shadow clones, and they scrambled away. Sasuke appeared behind Gato and beheaded him. Not sure why Gato felt the need to show up himself since he runs a mega-corporation, but it worked out well for us. Right after Gato died, a huge group of villagers showed up and helped us clean up the bridge from the damages and promised Tazuna to help him finish it." Kakashi eye-smiled at her. "It seems all your work with the villagers inspired them to change."

"Good. Oh, and Kakashi-sensei? You have been letting yourself go since Rin's death. In order for this to work, we need the Mangekyou Sharingan, and thus you need to train yourself with the Sharingan. By the time I am sixteen, we need to be able to take down Obito and the rest of Akatsuki, for that is when they will make their move." She alluded, and Kakashi nodded. Sakura released her genjutsu, the seals, and laid back on her bed before Kakashi could open the door to reveal Naruto and Sasuke piled on the ground, trying to eavesdrop.

-RB-

Sakura waited until late that night to try to contact the Kyuubi. She sat and meditated, trying to find her mindscape. It took her some time because she had never had to find it like a jinchuuriki had to, but once she did, she knew she could return in an instant.

She found herself in some sort of large house. It looked like the Hokage's mansion, but larger, with pipes running along the ceiling. It was decorated like she remembered, mostly. She guessed that she had envisioned herself living here with Naruto one day. She pursed her lips and followed the biggest pipe. Most of the pipes were medium size, probably eight inches in diameter. She guessed those to be her chakra coils. The largest one was more than three feet in diameter, however, so she would have guessed that it was the Kyuubi's chakra. She followed it into a huge room with a cage in it. Inside the cage, an irritated looking Kurama sat, eyeing her.

" **Well, you finally come to see me. You are lucky that Naruto factored in the interaction of seals. His idiocy outweighs his intelligence, but if he hadn't added the fact into the time seal, I would destroyed everyone who would have returned in an energy explosion. Although, how he factored in the seal and forgot my chakra is beyond me.** " Kurama explained. Sakura frowned.

"So what happened? How did you come to be sealed in MY gut?" She asked, and Kurama looked smug.

" **My chakra overpowered the time-seal, but only in regards to me. As the rest of you landed in your intended time, 6 years after my attack, I was vaulted back to the day that Kushina and Minato died.** " He explained. She was surprised at how calm he was in comparison to the early Kyuubi she knew. " **I managed to take myself, seal and everything, from Naruto. However, I couldn't very well plant myself inside him at that age. Two Kyuubi's would have killed the kid. I couldn't do it with Shikamaru or Tenten either. One was too old, the other not born. You were the only acceptable host of the time, although acceptable is pushing it. I had to do my own seal work, having learned from watching Naruto, and put extra protection on you so my chakra didn't kill you as a babe. In fact, your body, even now that it has adapted to some of my chakra, can hardly take it's own chakra's worth of my power before it starts rejecting itself.** "

"So what you are saying is that you sealed yourself into me willingly? And that using your chakra will kill me." She asked, and Kurama looked annoyed.

" **Yes, I just said that. I sealed myself because if I hadn't, a second Kyuubi would have appeared that day, and Obito would have taken control of me and REALLY destroyed Konoha.** " The giant fox relayed. Sakura nodded her agreement.

"So, I'll never be able to become a realized jinchuuriki, like Naruto." She summed up, and Kurama snorted.

" **You will never be able to handle even one tail of my chakra with the seal as it is.** " He explained. Sakura nodded slightly and frowned. The Jinchuuriki power had some nasty after-effects, something that Naruto probably never felt due to his enhanced healing ability, endurance, and longevity.

"So what do you intend to do?" She asked, and the fox shook his head.

" **There isn't much I can do. I will give you advice, and maybe, one day, with Naruto's seal work and your own medical genius, we can figure out a way for you to be able to use my chakra. Until then, I can certainly break you out of genjutsu and, should you learn slug Senjutsu, I will help you with that was well."** Sakura raised a brow at that last part, but left it alone.

"Well, any help we can get will certainly be welcome. I should probably return to the real world."

-RB-

Itachi stood on one of ten pillars, watching the chakra holograms of the other members of Akatsuki as they debated the new information that had been brought to their attention.

"You are absolutely certain, Sasori? The Haruno girl had Kyuubi chakra?" the face of Akatsuki, a mysterious Rinnegan wielder known only as Pein asked the red-haired puppet master.

"Yes. She was already extraordinarily strong for her age, perhaps even as skilled as Hatake Kakashi is now. However, when I had her beaten by any normal rights, her eyes went red and a massive flux of red chakra shot out from her, knocking me away. Her strength and speed became impossible for me to defeat in the state I was in, so Deidara and I bade our retreat," Sasori concluded. Itachi shared a look with the newest member of Akatsuki, Honour. While still impossible to read for him, he still knew she was worried for the Haruno girl.

"This information is troubling. Perhaps the Yondiame Hokage split the Kyuubi when he sealed it. The Haruno girl has no special bloodline like the Uzumaki, however, so any hope of her utilizing the beast's chakra is non-existent." Pein summarized for the group. Sasori looked as though he disagreed.

"Her skill was already high without a mature body. If I were you, Leader-sama, I would be worried about her developing into something we can't defeat in a pair, especially if we have to gather both her and the Uzumaki boy at once. He was skilled enough to defeat Momochi Zabuza in single combat, which is enormously impressive as well," Sasori argued. Kisame perked up at this information.

"That brat Zabuza got beat? Maybe I should go after this Uzumaki brat. I'd like to test him against Samehada." Kisame chuckled darkly, and Itachi wondered if Pein would send a team after the two. Konoha produced quality shinobi, and while Itachi was certain that anyone here could take anyone but the Sannin in a single match up, the fact is that Kakashi could defeat most of the members here with a little back up. Honour remained silent in this whole exchange.

"You remain silent, Honour. Do you have no input?" Konan asked the newest member. Honour turned her Sharingan toward Konan, staring impassively.

"While strong, the Haruno girl's skills lend themselves toward medical practice. Good against a poison user like Sasori, but ultimately useless against those who rely more on brute force. She would not match against most of the members here as it is. I would not worry to much on it." She shifted her stance, turning her gaze to Pein. "The Uzumaki has more potential in the end. If he learns to utilize the Kyuubi's chakra, even at half strength, even Itachi and I would struggle in a one versus one fight against him. Not to mention the plethora of strong shinobi in Konoha. Perhaps we should wait until our spies tell us he is out of the village, and then have one of our teams test him. We have to extract the beasts in order, so he would be our last target anyway."

"A good plan. If the team that goes after him determines he is too strong to be left alone, they will take him at that time and we can keep him prisoner. Honour, you and Itachi will be the ones to test him. The others, for now, will continue to pursue monetary incomes for the group. We cannot move until all plans are ready," Pein commanded. "Dismissed." The other holograms wavered and disappeared, and Itachi glanced over at Honour, the only one there in person with him.

"Shall we inform Hokage-sama?" he asked. She turned to him, still unreadable.

"Not until we make our move. If they seem too prepared, our cover will be blown. With luck, Orochimaru will not know of our plans and try to interrupt them." Itachi nodded at that. When Honour had retrieved his ring, she had been forced to fight the snake. With all of his lackeys there, she barely managed a victory over the Sannin, who then escaped and promised that he would become more active in disrupting Akatsuki in the future.

"He knows of Pein's plans. If he were smart, which he is, he would just kill one of the Jinchuuriki when we make our move. It takes at least two years for the Bijuu to reform after a Jinchuuriki dies, so it would delay our plans highly. He will probably go after one of the lower numbered tails, in order to prevent us from simply sealing them all and waiting," Honour theorized. Itachi agreed, and they sat in silence for a few minutes.

"I have been meaning to ask; where did you get your Sharingan? You are no Uchiha, although you do use them like one," Itachi said quietly, and Honour gazed at him for a few moments before brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"My mother told me that she had been raped by an Uchiha rogue. I later killed him and took his eyes," she told him. Itachi frowned. Other than 'Madara,' had there been any other rogue Uchiha? He knew that the end of the clan wars was disorganized at best, and it wasn't impossible for some of the outlying clan members of the Uchiha to start a life else where, although they would have been forced to lie low due to Konoha's extreme prejudice against village bloodlines existing outside of their control at the time.

"You use them like an Uchiha. If you had unlocked their next form, I wouldn't have been surprised," Honour nodded.

"I have unlocked the perfect form, when my mother was killed by my father, and then I took his eyes, although I've not been able to use them to their potential," Honour lamented, staring into the night sky as they walked out of the cave. Itachi's mind raced. She had unlocked the Eternal Mangekyou? Was she really so powerful that she never used them? She was as strong as him without them as he was when he used them, besides his trump card, which he had yet to show to anyone. He was slightly apprehensive at the potential power she could show.

If she had unlocked the Eternal Mangekyou, then it would explain why her that her eyesight seemed fine. With the few times Itachi had utilized the Mangekyou himself, his vision had already gone slightly blurry. With his sickness being healed, he wouldn't have to rely on them so much, but it was still worrying.

"I wish to make a stop to visit Hibena, if you allow it," Itachi posed, and for the first time, he seemed to read her. She seemed startled at his question.

"Why? A crippled woman in the backwater of Hi no Kuni has your interest?" She asked, and he shrugged.

"I felt at peace there, which is something that rarely happens with me. We do not have any assignments at the moment, and I wish to take some time to relax. You are welcome to join, since you apparently share a connection with her," Itachi suggested, almost accusingly.

"No, I have other things I need to do. I have no problem with you visiting her, just remember that no harm will come to her while you are with her, or I will kill you." The conviction would have intimidated Itachi had he been anyone else. Still, he didn't doubt she could kill him. If she had unlocked the Mangekyou, like he theorized, he would be no match for her. She seemed on a level above most in this world, even geniuses like himself.

"Very well, we shall meet back here in a week." Honour nodded and jumped off the opposite way of him. He wondered why she protected Hibena but refused to meet her. Maybe, someday, she would trust him enough to let him in on the truth.

-RB-

Read, Review, blah blah blah.

AN: Kurama' situation is unique. He was shot back, and came with his entire being, not just his soul. So, combined with what he learned from Naruto and the fact that Bijuu have been shown to be able to do ninjutsu at least to some degree, he did some quick thinking to seal himself into the only legitimate target that he knew made it back. He could have sealed himself into Sasuke, but let's be real, Kurama would rather die than be sealed into an Uchiha. And Sakura is the eldest of Team Seven (minus Kakashi) so it all fits.

This is the longest chapter yet. I want them all to be between the length of last chapter and this one, but I imagine some will be shorter and some may even be longer.

Next Time

_"My name is Honour. I have a gift for you." Sakura closed her mouth, and caught a scroll that the woman tossed to her. It was a sealing scroll, but Sakura didn't unseal the gift that instant. Now that she could see her eyes, she knew who it was. The red Sharingan eyes stared back at her._

_"You came all the way here to give me a gift?" Sakura asked, knowing the woman was here for something else._

_"I need your help with something."_


	10. Preparations for War

CHAPTER 10  
I DID IT! I BROKE MY TEN CHAPTER CURSE!

For a long time, I have been unable to make it past nine chapters in anything due to my muse dying miserably in a ditch somewhere whenever I made it a solid way into the series. This ends that streak.

As for disclaimers, it is pretty obvious that I ain't making any money off of this.

-RB-

The remaining time in Nami no Kuni, for Sakura, was spent recovering. Even with her healing jutsus, the long lasting damage of using Kurama's unrefined chakra could be felt until the end of the week. She would not be using that chakra again if she could help it, at least until someone who was good enough with seals could make a seal to refine it even more. She didn't imagine Kurama would work with her like he had with Naruto, simply because she was not as pure as Naruto. Seals were her only chance of using his chakra safely.

Kurama had agreed to cooperate to a degree, simply because, like her, he knew what would happened if they failed. Even he, who hated most humans, did not want the world to end in an infinite Tsukiyomi. He hated the Uchiha, and everyone being under their control was the last thing he wanted. His attitude toward her reminded her of tsundere types in mangas, which made him angry with her for the comparison.

Imagining Kurama in a school-girl outfit saying things like 'I-it's not like I want to help you or anything. I just don't want the world to end, b-baka!' had sent giggles through her, despite Kurama's raging in the background. After promising not to imagine him in anymore embarrasing images, she got him to calm down.

Naruto and Sasuke spent the remainder of the week training and taking turns guarding the bridge, although Sakura knew that, with Gato dead, there would be no more attacks. Zabuza and Haku had been kept under guard by Kakashi but otherwise unmolested. Haku was less injured but seemed only to care that Zabuza's back was broken. Zabuza seemed to genuinely care for the boy now, which Sakura saw a plus. It had taken one of Naruto's famous speeches after the boy's death last time to get through to him. Sakura decided she would heal both of them when she back up to strength.

Tazuna had come in while she was on bed rest and personally thanked her deeply for her role in the defeat of Gato. He told her that it was her kindness and generosity in healing the people of Nami that they had the strength to fight back against Gato's thugs. For Gato had mustered most of his forces on the bridge, but he had left patrols around the town itself. After Naruto had saved Inari and his mother, Inari had gone into the town and mustered the people, taking back the town and rushing to the bridge to help the shinobi. Too late, but the thought was there, and Sakura had actually choked up a little when Tazuna had told her the name of his bridge. The Great Sakura Bridge would be its name, once it was finished.

Originally, it had been named the Great Naruto Bridge, because this spot had been Naruto's greatest growth point as a character, where he had changed the reason behind his dream of Hokage from wanting attention to protecting his precious people. Sakura only hoped that she lived up to that legacy as well.

Sakura healed Zabuza and Haku the day before Team 7 was going to leave. Haku thanked her profusely, and even Zabuza shot out a grudging thank you and a compliment of her skills. The two departed soon after, determined to join with the rebellion that Sakura had told them about to overthrow Yagura. She only hoped they would make a positive difference.

Soon enough, it was time to leave Nami and head home. Naruto had a tearful goodbye with Inari, and Tazuna had gathered the town to say farewell to their saviors. Sakura felt mollified at the amount of attention she got. She had never been the center of attention last time around, because she had always been trying to catch up to her two team members, but now she was the strongest, and it felt good to be the one in the spotlight for once.

The trip back to Konoha was uneventful, and once they returned, Kakashi dragged Sakura off to the Hokage for the mission report. They had discussed previously with Naruto and Sasuke that the red-cloaked shinobi were to remain a secret for now. Zabuza and Haku could be talked about, but the whole team needed to embelish just how much trouble they had been given by the pair.

Once in the Hokage's office, Kakashi had asked Jiraiya to confirm the events that she had told him, and the two of them had filled the Sannin on the Kyuubi incident on the bridge.

"Why didn't you tell me you had the Kyuubi?" Jiraiya had asked. Sakura just shrugged.

"I only found out recently. I never noticed the seal on my stomach, as bad as that sounds. I never really molded chakra without a shirt on." Sakura had been blunt about it. This complicated plans with Akatsuki, especially considering Sasori and Deidara had escaped. Sakura knew that they only needed a little of Kurama's chakra to finish the Gedo Mazo, but she didn't know if Nagato knew that. They would probably go out of their way to try to capture both Naruto and herself.

She didn't know if Itachi could delay that, but if they went by their plans last time, they would pursue Naruto last. She hoped they stayed true to the plan.

"Well, since Akatsuki is aware of this, we will have to keep the two of you in the village until after the Chunin exams. The strain on our forces during the exams would prevent us sending emergency reinforcements to your locations should you have a run in with them." Jiraiya sighed, cursing under his breath about being named Hokage. "You are entering the exams, right?"

"Of course. We need to take out Orochimaru now and save ourselves a lot of hassle in the long run. He'll come back, of course, but it will give us a bit of time to prepare for his next plan. Plus, imagine how his reputation will be scarred when word gets out that he was defeated by three genin," Sakura said smugly. Jiraiya laughed at the image of Orochimaru enraged because his followers all left him.

"Very well. However, Naruto is going to sign the Toad Contract before he starts the exams. If you all get in over your heads, he can have the toads reverse summon me. Orochimaru is arrogant and powerful, but he isn't stupid enough to try to fight it out with me in the middle of the village," Jiraiya explained. Sakura nodded, for it was a smart plan. She needed to get her hands on the summoning contract for the slugs soon.

"Alright, take the time between now and the exams off. Get in some last minute training. Kakashi, let me know Naruto and Sasuke's progress." Kakashi nodded and the two of them split.

-RB-

Itachi settled on a branch outside of Karak town, his black and red Akatsuki cloak sealed away in a storage scroll. He hopped to the ground, willing away they pounding of his heart as he walked calmly through the village. His dreams had been filled with little else than Hibena, who would sometimes fuse with Honour. He had always thought of himself as the type who viewed romance as an endeavor not worth his time, but he couldn't deny that he was possibly infatuated with the wheelchair-bound woman.

He reached Hibena's home fairly quickly, knocking on the door after taking a moment to gather himself.

"Yes? Come in!" He walked in, closing the door behind him. Hibena rolled into the entryway and took a shocked look to her face upon seeing Itachi. "Obito-san! I didn't think I would see you again." Itachi smiled softly at the woman, walking forward and kneeling in front of her.

"I was in the area and I decided that I would like to visit you again. You were very kind to me during my last visit. I was hoping I could get to know you a little better this time around," Itachi said kindly. The woman blushed and simply nodded, noticing the bag in his hand. He lifted it for her to see. "Some clothes and a present for my host."

"You didn't need to do that, Obito-san. Your company would have made a fine gift on its own," she said as she smoothed out the dress on her legs in a nervous habit. Itachi just chuckled.

"Well, I knew that you had a garden, and I hoped that these would give it even greater variety." He pulled out several small bags, each containing a handful of seeds. "I brought seeds for a dozen different types of fruits and vegetables not found in the Land of Fire." Hibena's eyes sparkled in excitement and she eagerly took them from Itachi, rolling off toward her garden.

"Make yourself at home, Obito-san!" Hibena called as she rolled off, and Itachi chuckled softly at this. He placed his bag in the guest room he had used last time, and noticed the slight layer of dust in the room. It was expected, of course. Hibena being bound to a wheelchair would make it difficult to clean, and she didn't have a reason to keep the guest room clean to his knowledge, unless she really did know Honour.

It had been over two years since he had been back, and yet she had welcomed him in with open arms. Seeing such blatant and undisguised compassion for everyone was strange for him. Growing up in the shinobi world had caused him to have a cynical view of the world. No one in the shinobi world showed kindness for no reason, not even Konoha shinobi, known for their 'soft hearts.'

He wandered into the greenhouse after setting his things down and watched as Hibena filled several pots with soil, and started watering each. She was humming a tune, a lullaby common in Konoha. He hadn't spent much time in the surrounding village or the other cities of the Land of Fire, so he supposed it could be common elsewhere. She looked very pleased with her work, and set off toward the kitchen when she was him. He raised a brow at her, smiling.

"Obito-san, thank you for the gifts! I've been wanting dill and raspberries for a very long time. My father used to make a raspberry tart that was to die for, and dill is very useful for pickling." Itachi, of all people, thought it was cute that she was so excited about plants. He hadn't thought anything was cute since Sasuke was a baby. Hibena glided past him, humming cheerfully.

Itachi couldn't help but wonder what life for her would have been like without the wheelchair.

-RB-

Sakura had managed to convince Kakashi to organize a training camp for the Rookie 9, with all three Jounin overseeing the training. All the genin who didn't know their elemental types were tested using the chakra paper. Kiba, Shino, Chouji and Shikamaru had earth and fire, both very common in Konoha. Ino had earth and water, and Hinata had fire and lightning. Team 7 had already found theirs out long ago. Sakura remembered learning earth jutsu alongside Konohamaru in her previous timeline, and the survivors of Kirigakure had taught her water jutsu after returning to Konoha.

The time between the end of the Battle of the Ten Tails and Tobi's attack on Konohagakure, the last remaining shinobi village, had been about six months. It was during this time that most of the survivors had reached new heights of strength. Some had truly prospered in those six months, reaching the leagues of Kage strength. Among those had been the final survivors of her group. Tenten, under tutelage of the scrolls that Naruto had rescued from Uzushiogakure, had prospered in sealing, and this had led to a myriad of other massive improvements by her. She had ended up being as skilled as Sakura, and if the pink haired woman had not been able to heal herself, Tenten would have won every spar.

Tenten had learned over four dozen lighting and water ninjutsu, become adept in genjutsu, improved her taijutsu to the level of Lee, and even learned to open a couple of gates. She and Naruto had created the sword that would have been Tobi's bane if they had been able to study the Kamui in more depth. Once Tenten had acquired Sasuke's Sharingan(she had been the only willing recipient) and Sakura had helped implant Uchiha DNA into her, she had become the second strongest fighter among them. It didn't matter, since Tobi could simply evade all of their attacks, but it had ended up meaning alot in this timeline.

Konohamaru had become everything his grandfather had been, lacking only experience to match him. Shikamaru had mastered his elements in short time, spurred on by the deaths of his team and his promise to protect Mirai. Kurenai had trained heavily too, but she had barely been able to reach Kage level, the pregnancy having taken heavy tolls on her body that she was never really ever able to recover from, even with Sakura's help.

In this timeline, all of the genin besides Gai's team were massively ahead of where they would have been. Shikamaru's team, while no Team 7, were all chunin strength at least. Team Eight had also progressed much faster. Seeing Sakura as a rival, Hinata had pushed herself harder than she ever had, and it had paid off. Sakura thought her to be about as strong as she had been in the previous timeline when Pein had attacked, although she wasn't sure since she hadn't seen the girl in action. Kiba and Shino had made strides as well. Kiba was as strong as he had been during the Sasuke Retrieval mission, and Shino had evolved his insects to inject poison as well as eat chakra.

Kakashi had even become stronger than he had been. At Sakura's urging, he had been focusing on increasing his chakra capacity as much as possible. If they were to stand a chance against Tobi, then they needed to study Kakashi's Kamui as much as possible to either complete Tenten's sword or create some sort of seal to prevent Tobi from phasing.

Speaking of Fuinjutsu, Sakura had given Naruto a beginner's sealing book, telling him that his ancestors were feared for their seals. She intended to wait until after the exams to really have him buckle down on the sealing, because she had needed his combat capabilities up to par for her plans. Once Orochimaru was out of the way, she could have him dive into the art. The Naruto of her timeline had managed amazing things with seals, including a permanent cure for the Cursed Seal mark, which had spelled the death of Orochimaru, and a seal to store chakra as a battery.

Sakura had never gotten too deep into sealing with him, but she had learned everything up to the intermediate level, which was about where Kakashi was. She hoped to changed that this time, although Naruto had told her that creating seals was more about trial and error, as well as creativity rather than just knowing how to write seals. She knew she wouldn't be much of a seal creator, but she wanted to, at least, learn the Shiki Fūjin in case she needed to sacrifice herself to kill Madara or Obito.

She was willing to make that sacrifice, in an instant, if it meant that her friends would live on.

-RB-

Danzo cursed, as the last Sharingan eye closed on his arm. The orange-haired man held him by the throat, the Rinnegan staring him in the eye.

"You were a fool to come here, Danzo. You were a fool to compromise your safety in the village. That was the only reason I hadn't come after you," the man growled. Danzo knew this was Pein, the leader of Akatsuki. Danzo had collaborated with Hanzo during the Second War to take out the rebel group, which had failed spectacularly despite the death of their leader. It had had some unintended consequences, it seemed, since Akatsuki had transformed from a group of freedom fighters to terrorists.

"To think you would be this strong... at least I know I will stop you from hurting Konoha," Danzo said quietly. He activated the suicide seal on his chest, and smiled one last smile as the seal sucked in the man holding him and the four bodies he had managed to destroy. His last act, a fugitive from Konoha, was for his home, that he loved. He was simply glad that he had managed to send a message to Jiraiya before he died, revealing as much as he could about Pein's abilities. He knew this wasn't the true Pein, but if he could slow him down and reveal weaknesses of his abilities to the Konoha shinobi, then perhaps his death would be worth something.

-RB-

Sakura and Kakashi had been called in the day before the Chunin exams were supposed to start.

"Read this and tell me what you think?" Jiraiya said as he handed a piece of paper to Sakura. With Kakashi reading over her shoulder, she scanned the paper.

_Six paths_

_God - Gravity control. 5 second recharge_

_Demon - Mechanized ballistic weaponry_

_Preta - Chakra absorption_

_Human - Unknown, sacrificed early_

_Animal - infinite summoning_

_Naraka - Unknown, stayed back in battle._

_Each body shares vision via Rinnegan_

_Unknown location of seventh path, the true Pein_

_I go to death with a smile on my face_

_Danzo_

Sakura knew all this, but no one knew that she did. This was a perfect chance to have this knowledge legitimately though. And Danzo was dead, which made life so much easier for them.

"Danzo got caught by Pein and died? Great. One less thorn in our side. Good on him to give us this info though. Maybe he'll rest a little easier in hell," Sakura said, giving the paper back to JIraiya. Kakashi seemed annoyed at her attitude, but Sakura didn't care. He didn't know how many problems Danzo had been the source of in her timeline. "It doesn't change our short-term plans, and any long term plans were thrown out the window the minute Akatsuki showed up in Nami no Kuni."

"I agree. However, this is a perfect way to demonstrate awareness on Pein's abilities. You said he killed me in the last timeline, and I only got some of this information to you. Danzo potentially saved a lot of lives, so he won't be remembered as a total asshole," Jiraiya explained, and silence filled the room. "Orochimaru is on the move. My spies tell me he has plans in Konoha, although they don't tell me what he has planned. Is he moving after Sasuke?"

"It sounds like it. He killed the Kazekage around this time last timeline, so he might be gearing up for the invasion. We have to play this carefully. We can't let him know we know he is coming, but we must prevent as many causalities as possible," Sakura said, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"True. However, will the invasion still take place if you manage to kill Orochimaru in the Forest of Death?" Kakashi asked, his book out even though he clearly wasn't paying attention to it.

"It took him a year to return in the last timeline, and even then, it was because Sasuke brought him back. Although Kabuto also absorbed some of his remains, so I'm uncertain on how much that had an effect on the bastard's return. I will be trying to kill Kabuto in the exams as well, although I recommend that you go after him seriously, Kakashi-sensei. He caused almost as many problems as Orochimaru did last time." The Edo Tensei shinobi had been a pain and caused a lot of deaths, especially Madara, but they weren't the true threat.

"I can't exactly walk up to him and casually slash his throat. He will be hard to kill, simply because of the regeneration ability you told me about," Kakashi sighed. "However, you are correct that he needs to die. I'll track him during the 2nd exam and kill him when you confront Orochimaru." Jiraiya nodded jovially, grinning.

"Great! Now that those problems are taken care of, I'm off to do some research. My books have been hindered by being Hokage, but I'll never stop writing!" Jiraiya yelled with a perverted smile on his face. Sakura simply sighed and walked out. She would have hit him, but hitting the Hokage tended to be bad for your health. She just hoped Jiraiya had been training like he said he would.

-RB-

"Summon Dosu, Zaku, and Kin," Orochimaru commanded his left hand man, Kabuto. The bespectacled man nodded and went off to fetch the three genin. The Snake Sannin sat and contemplated the upcoming invasion. It would be his chance to take out Jiraiya once and for all as well as secure the Sharingan for himself.

There were rumors that the team Sasuke had been placed on was strong, and the girl, Haruno Sakura, had even been compared to a young Itachi and Kakashi. Even she was as strong as Kakashi, it still wouldn't be in their favor, although it would be more of a fight than he wanted. Perhaps he would just ambush the group instead of testing Sasuke like he originally planned. He could train the boy to be strong once he defected, and if he was anything like Itachi, he would be strong enough.

Jiraiya was a more dangerous politician and leader than Sarutobi had been, simply because he wasn't as soft as the old man. He didn't trust others as much and was more likely to come down hard on things that were not for the good of the village. He wasn't nearly as strong as the Sandiame, although Sarutobi's age had probably made him slow and weak, so Jiraiya would have been able to beat him. Still, Orochimaru would rather face the Toad Sannin than the old man.

The last time the two Sannin had clashed, Orochimaru had come away with a victory, although he had been near his limit, and Jiraiya had managed to escape. Jiraiya only came close to Orochimaru because of his sage mode, which, though imperfect, still boosted Jiraiya's skills to the point where Orochimaru was forced to engage him in ranged combat and use his best tricks to fight the man.

The door opened, revealing Kabuto and the three genin. Excellent, he had much use for these three, even if they didn't know just how much.

-RB-

Sakura trudged into her house after a long day of training. All of her friends were becoming very strong, and it was starting to show itself with how worn out she got every day. Naruto and Sasuke together could almost beat her, pushing her to the point of breaking out all of her best techniques and jutsu. The only thing she ever withheld was using the Sōzō Saisei, which would not only waste months of gathering chakra into her forehead, but would make a battle with pretty much anyone in the village pointless. Besides, she didn't want to destroy the training grounds.

After greeting her mother and father, she headed upstairs to grab a shower and work on her antidote techniques. She had come to the realization that the pill she had used to cure Itachi had the ability to pretty much cure any disease. She had created a cure-all for cancers, diseases, and general sicknesses. She planned to release it to Konoha Hospital as soon as she got a position there, as they wouldn't allow a twelve year old girl to work there for whatever reason. She supposed the only reason she had gotten to work in the hospital so early last time was because Tsunade had vouched for her.

She froze when she entered her room, for sitting on her bed, staring out her window, was a woman with long, raven black hair. She wore a black mask, Kakashi style, across her face. Her garb was almost standard ANBU uniform, although a large red scarf that reached the woman's waist broke the standards. She also didn't have the tattoo that all ANBU possessed. She had a scroll taped to her leg, and a blade strapped to the small of her back, similar to how Sasuke had his sword in the old timeline.

Sakura couldn't see her face, but she seemed familiar.

"Te-" She was interrupted before she could speak.

"My name is Honour. I have a gift for you." Sakura closed her mouth, and caught a scroll that the woman tossed to her. It was a sealing scroll, but Sakura didn't unseal the gift that instant. Now that she could see her eyes, she knew who it was. The red Sharingan eyes stared back at her.

"You came all the way here to give me a gift?" Sakura asked, knowing the woman was here for something else.

"I need your help with something."

-RB-

Hibena had a piano, Itachi had noted upon his first arrival. It had been dusty, as though she had never played it. Why did she have a piano in a backwater village like this one? Where did she even get it? Questions for another time, for when Itachi had asked about the piano, Hibena had resolved to play for him, although the Uchiha could tell that she felt grief when looking at the instrument. Had her father played this?

Hibena moved herself onto the bench and tested out a few keys, wiping the dust from reachable surfaces. Itachi sat in another chair in the room, listening silently as she began to play a slow, soft tune. She had a lot of skill, and Itachi wondered why the woman didn't play it more often. He didn't want to ask, because the woman looked to about on the verge of tears as it was.

Still, watching her play this soft, beautiful melody was relaxing for Itachi. It gave him the opportunity to think about his life, something he hadn't done since shortly after the Uchiha Massacre. Back then, he had planned to push Sasuke into getting revenge on him, and then dying to his little brother when the boy was strong enough to kill him. Sasuke would return to the village a hero, and Itachi could take the truth behind the Massacre to his grave.

Now that he was cured of his sickness, he needed to rethink his plans. Sasuke would grow up happy in Konoha, and Itachi knew that the truth behind the massacre would eventually come out. Sasuke would remain loyal to the village even after he learned the full truth. He had come to the realization that his plan had been clouded by his love for his brother, as Honour had pointed out. Had Itachi killed his mother, Sasuke would have been so consumed with revenge that he would have done anything to gain power, including killing his friends to obtain the Mangekyou and leaving the village if someone like Orochimaru made him the offer.

Perhaps it was for the best if they learned the truth behind the Massacre, after they settled into their lives a bit more. With his mother's marriage to Kakashi and her recent pregnancy, Mikoto would move on when she found out. She had never been in love with his father, despite their long marriage, although they had been friendly, perhaps even best friends. It had been a marriage for the clan, not for love. It helped that Mikoto had always been a forgiving type.

Sasuke was less certain to understand or forgive him, but perhaps he would understand if he came to love the village as much as Itachi did. At least with Danzo ousted from the village, Sasuke wouldn't try to blame the village if the situation was explained to him correctly. If Sasuke ever came in contact with 'Madara,' then the situation would be explained in a way to make Sasuke hate the village. Perhaps Itachi would have to explain it to him.

All of this left him with questions on what his own plans would be once the conflicts were over. Once Akatsuki was defeated and the village safe for a time, what would Itachi do with his life? Honour had asked him that question, but Itachi hadn't known the answer. Would he return to the village? It was likely that he would. Would he assume the head of the Uchiha clan? He didn't think he would. He had never wanted to be the leader of the Uchiha clan, even before he found out they were planning a coup.

Perhaps he would become Hokage... if the people would allow him to. Even if his situation was explained, years of hatred toward a man wouldn't disappear just because they were told he was a good guy. Even if he couldn't be Hokage, he would certainly return to the ranks. Despite everything, he had enjoyed being a shinobi for Konoha.

Another vision suddenly took over his mind. The same as the dream he had been having. An Honour/Hibena hybrid standing at his side, wearing the Uchiha colors. Sometimes the dream was filled with children running about, playing happily. Sometimes he would be in Konoha, along side his brother, their children playing together, his brother's pink haired wife yelling at them to stop running in the house. Those dreams seemed an impossibility, but were always pleasant.

The song stopped in the background, and Itachi saw tears on Hibena's cheeks. He stood, approaching slowly.

"Hibena-san? What's wrong?" He asked, genuinely concerned.

"I'm just remembering the piano lessons my father had me take. His death was sudden and violent. He had been the only person who was there for my entire life, and he had died not long after I lost a close friend of mine as well," Hibena explained, and Itachi felt compassion for her. She had lived a difficult life, from what he could tell.

"I'm sorry. I experienced the death of most of my own family and friends all in a short time period, and it was hard to keep going afterward. I can sympathize." Itachi sat on the bench next to the woman, wondering what he should do to comfort her. He had never had experience with women much before. He wished he could ask his mother for advice. Hibena suddenly latched onto him, crying into his shoulder. Itachi started in surprise, but after a few seconds, he awkwardly wrapped his arms around her, patting her back. A sudden warmth filled his chest, and it excited and frightened him at the same time.

After a few minutes of comforting the woman, Hibena finally let go and wiped her eyes, sniffling but no longer sobbing. Even with her eyes red and puffy, Itachi still thought she looked beautiful. He brushed a hair out of her face, tucking it behind one of her ears, like he had seen Shisui do on his dates. Hibena looked up at him, some confusion and a little bit of awe in her expression.

If he had still been sick, if Danzo had still been Konoha, he would have never considered getting this close to this woman. He had distanced himself from anyone since the Massacre, but after he had been healed by the Haruno girl and driven Danzo out of Konoha, he had been able to relax a little. Only a little, since being a spy in Akatsuki made sure he had to be on top of his public appearances, but in private situations like this, he could let it go and try to enjoy life a little. He had already made friends with Honour, even if he didn't know much about her.

Hibena suddenly moved toward him slowly, her eyes fluttering closed as her lips puckered slightly. Itachi's mind went haywire. What should he do? He barely knew Hibena, even if he was attracted to her and enjoyed her company. He panicked and did possibly the worse reaction his brain came up.

He stood suddenly, shooting to the wall. Hibena looked up at him, a hurt expression on her face. She sighed and pushed herself into her wheelchair.

"I'm sorry, Obito-san. We barely know each other and I made things awkward." Itachi got his heart to slow and stood normally, a small look of regret flashing past his face.

"I am flattered, Hibena-san. I think you deserve someone who could be there for you all the time, not a shinobi who would spend most of his life on missions and potentially not come home at all," Itachi said honestly, although that was not the reason he backed away. He had not experience with girls. He had been on a couple of dates, but those had been set up by his father.

"Do you want to try some of the strawberries I have been growing?" She asked, and Itachi was grateful for the subject change.

"Yes, please."

-RB-

Itachi left Hibena's house the following day. While there occasionally an awkward moment, Itachi still enjoyed himself, feeling very relaxed when he left.

"You look like you enjoyed yourself," Honour appeared, her Sharingan flashing ominously. Itachi wasn't threatened, although he knew she could beat him.

"Hibena and I have come to an agreement of sorts. How was your business?" He asked, knowing that him not telling her of the agreement would irk her.

"I got what I needed to get done accomplished. What is the next move?" She asked, hiding her annoyance well. Itachi thought about it for a second.

"I need to get in contact with Haruno-san, or find Tsunade. One of the two." Honour stared at him for a few seconds before nodding.

"Is this an attempt to fix Hibena's spine?" Honour asked, and Itachi nodded. If Haruno could cure his disease, then he didn't doubt she could fix a severed spine. "Don't worry about it. I already asked Haruno-san to do that," Honour told him as they hopped from tree to tree.

"Really? That's... convenient for me. When can she fix her?" Itachi wondered if Honour could read minds at times.

"After the upcoming Chunin exams, she said. It would be suspicious for her to leave the village before then," Honour responded. Itachi nodded. Hopefully nothing would go wrong in the Chunin exams to prevent her from fixing the kind woman who had taken his heart.

-RB-

END

What do y'all think of Itachi's relationships with Hibena and Honour? I will reveal how they are connected later.

Any guesses on what the gift Honour gave to Sakura is?

Next time

_Orochimaru heard lightning crackling overhead, and looked up to see a massive dragon of lightning forming above him. His amusement turned to fear._

_"This jutsu is called Kirin. Begone with the thunderclap!" Sasuke called out, and the dragon surged forward._


	11. The Chunin Exams

Chapter 11, the beginning of the Chunin exams! I promise not to disappoint too many of you with what is probably the most Iconic arc of the original series.

This is Jiraiya's chunin exams, not the Sandiame's, so things will be a bit different for the people allowed to join.

Honour

http://www.deviantart.com/art/Tenten-Anbu-341479833

-Insert Standard Disclaimer here-

THERE MIGHT BE A SLOW DOWN IN CHAPTER PRODUCTION! I just got FFXV and I'm kind of obsessed right now. We'll see.

-RB-

"YOU BRAT, GET BACK HERE!" Sakura yelled, chasing after Konohamaru and his friends. The brat had called her ugly after asking Naruto if she was his girl. Naruto had had the good sense to say no, even if he blushed and pouted adorably. Konohamaru suddenly bumped into a familiar face, knocking himself to the ground.

Kankuro looked annoyed at the kid, while Temari looked bored. It was good to see them, even if they weren't allies yet. Kankuro, mirroring his alternate self, picked Konohamaru up by the collar of his shirt, threatening to beat him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Sakura simply responded, making sure her stance was bad and her KI was completely off. She wanted to hide her abilities as long as possible, at least until the 3rd exam. Kankuro sneered at her.

"Why shouldn't I, pinky?" A vein protruded from her temple at that. She had forgotten that awful nickname, and would prefer if it didn't make a resurgence.

"Because that is the son of the Sandiame Hokage and the heir to the Sarutobi clan. I mean, if you want to start an international incident, please go ahead, but don't blame me if your fist doesn't make it to his head before you have more blades embedded into you than your tiny brain can count," Sakura said non-chalantly, picking at a nail. Kankuro's face turned red in rage and he dropped Konohamaru, ready to break out Karasu right there. In the background, Temari was laughing at the insult.

Suddenly, the area was flooded with killing intent, stronger than Zabuza's. Konohamaru started shivering, and Sakura made a show of looking afraid. Gaara appeared in the tree near them.

"Kankuro, you are an embarrasment to our village," the redheaded jinchuuriki said softly. Kankuro shivered in fear, but went to protest.

"But, Gaara, she-" The killing intent intensified, and Sakura remembered how terrifying the kid had been in her original timeline.

"Shut up, or I'll kill you." The sand around Gaara trembled menacingly, and Kankuro wisely shut up. The three of them walked away, with Naruto and Sasuke appearing next to Sakura. Gaara turned.

"You, what's your name?" Sasuke asked, and Gaara turned, glaring right at the Uchiha.

"Sabaku no Gaara. And what is yours?" Gaara asked, not bothering with the other two. Good, let all of them think Sasuke was the only threat.

"Uchiha Sasuke. I'll be sure to be you in the exam," Sasuke said, unsheathing his blade halfway in an attempt to intimidate the ginger. Gaara just smirked and walked away. Sakura blatantly ignored the Sound group in the tree. If they were as strong as last time, both Naruto and Sasuke could solo their team.

"Blahblahblah I'm Sasuke and everyone only cares about me and my emo-ass duckbutt hair blahblahblah," Naruto muttered under his breath, and Sakura laughed at this. Sasuke glared at the both of them for a second before smirking at Naruto.

"Don't get jealous that everyone already knows I'm a better fighter than you. It is only natural, afterall. The Uchiha are the most elite fighters around." Naruto glared at the boy.

"So elite they all died!" Naruto yelled, and Sakura's eyes went wide. That had been cruel, even for this ruthless version of Naruto that she had raised.

"Naruto! Apologize!" Sakura yelled as Sasuke gritted his teeth, his eyes flashing Sharingan red. Naruto looked stubborn.

"Oh, so Sasuke can make all the orphan jokes he wants, but I mention his dead clan, and I'M the bad guy. Seems fair." Sakura went to refute that, but he had a point. She had never called Sasuke out much on his taunting, even in this timeline. Perhaps it was because she knew Naruto would never betray Konoha and Sasuke had already in one timeline? She knew that was a poor excuse.

"Alright, no more orphan jokes, no more jokes about the Uchiha clan, except about Sasuke and possibly Mikoto-sama if you want to risk her anger." Naruto shook his head rapidly at that. Mikoto could be downright frightening if she wanted to be, even to Sakura.

"Let's go meet Kakashi-sensei and get our chunin exam nominations."

-RB-

"That isn't the right room," Sasuke muttered to the group. Sakura nodded in agreement, and even Naruto noticed after it was pointed out. His skill in detecting genjutsu was getting better, although it was still pretty terrible.

"Let's not make a scene, just head up to the right room and let these weaklings go." Naruto could show good sense at times, and Sakura agreed with his assessment. As they got to the end of the hall, she heard a familiar voice.

"Are you Uchiha Sasuke?" A boy with a green spandex suit and orange leg and arm warmers asked. His massive eyebrows took up most of his face, and his dark hair was in the shape of a bowl. Sakura almost smiled at the sight of him. Lee would never change, even in his death knell. Flashes of an older Lee opening the Eighth gate to give Konoha time to evacuate popped into her mind, and the urge to smile faded quickly. Sasuke turned to address Lee.

"I am." Lee's eyes burned with determination.

"I am Rock Lee, the Genius of Hard Work! I challenge you to a spar!" Lee said loudly. Sasuke stared at him for a second.

"I'll pass. I have the chunin exams to attend," Sasuke replied, turning to head back down the hallway. Lee stood there with a frown on his face as Naruto followed Sasuke. He rushed up to Sakura.

"Sakura-san! You are a beautiful flower! Be my girlfriend! I'll protect you with my life!" Sakura almost giggled, but withheld. Behind Lee, she could see Tenten facepalming, and Neji looking annoyed. Flashes of Neji diving in front of a lethal attack to save Hinata and Naruto appeared in her mind, and she lost the will to giggle.

"No thanks, Lee-kun. I want to focus on my career for a while. Ask me again after I make jounin." Normally, that would be saying 'ask me again in ten years' but Sakura knew she could become a jounin by 14 if she wanted to. Lee had tears trailing down his face, but nodded. Sakura headed up to the room behind her team.

Kakashi was in the room before the meeting area, waiting for them. He snapped his book closed when he saw them.

"Oh? That was quick. I thought for sure that one of you would get into trouble on the way up here. How did you get past the chunin guards anyway?" He asked, and Sakura scoffed.

"We wouldn't be much of a shinobi team if we couldn't sneak around a poorly guarded stairwell. We used the windows on the third floor." She explained it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Kakashi wasn't surprised, as much as dumbfounded no one else had tried that yet.

"Well, good luck! The exams tend to be difficult but... I think you will all be fine. You have all defeated a jounin level enemy, after all, although this exam seems to be a little... stacked. Hokage-sama authorized more villages to participate, so be careful." He disappeared in a puff of smoke, and they entered the room, being the first ones there. The others began to filter in slowly. Sakura made sure to keep track of the Sand team, Kabuto's team, and Neji's team.

The other rookies filtered in last, with Ino and her team making a beeline for Sakura's team immediately. Ino threw herself onto Sasuke, spouting out compliments for the Uchiha. Sakura ignored her, slightly annoyed that Ino was still a fan girl.

"Yo, Sakura, Naruto. You taking this troublesome exam as well?" Shikamaru asked, with Hinata next to him, smiling at Naruto.

"Sure. Gotta prove that Team 7 is still the best of Konoha's genin." Naruto had a certain cockiness he never possessed in the original timeline, although that was probably because he only ever been beaten in a fight by Sasuke or Sakura. Shikamaru raised a brow.

"I don't know, Naruto. We've gotten pretty strong. Fighting might be troublesome, but I bet I could give you a run for your money." Hinata turned a slight glare toward Sakura. The Hyuuga had never liked that Sakura had the attention of Naruto and seemed to reciprocate some affection, even if it wasn't romantic. Hinata had declared Sakura her rival one day, blowing past her stuttering and shyness. Since then, she appeared to have worked herself into the ground training. Sakura had even heard that she had been in a massive argument with her father and had almost been branded. She hadn't heard all the details but there had been a mass recall of all the Hyuuga shinobi.

"Heh, we'll see, lazy bones!" Naruto said as the other team came in. The only all male shinobi team in the last few years, Kiba's team was already well known for their teamwork. For them, the whole was greater than the sum of their parts. She only hoped they made it to the finals.

"Yahoo! The whole gang made it, eh? Looks like you suckers will be just in time to see our team take out all the competition." Kiba was still a loudmouth, although Sakura couldn't imagine him beating more than half of the rookies in single combat.

"Oi, you guys! You should be a little quieter," A silver-haired man stepped forward. Sakura's eyes narrowed at the appearance of Kabuto. She wanted to kill him here, but didn't want to ruin her chances at Orochimaru. Kakashi had said he would take care of Kabuto anyway.

"You lot are the Rookie nine, right? Fresh out of the academy. Showing off with fresh, cute faces like that... hmph. This isn't a class field trip," Kabuto scolded them. Ino glared at the man.

"And who are you, acting all haughty?" Kabuto smirked.

"I'm Yakushi Kabuto. Anyway, take a look around you." There were several glaring teams, including the Ame team behind them. "Careful of those Ame shinobi. They're hot-tempered. Everyone is tense before the Exam. I thought I would warn you guys before you get your butts whipped..." Sasuke and Naruto both looked annoyed at that. Sakura knew only three or four shinobi in this room could give either of them a challenge, provided the contestants were the same this time. They weren't, but Sakura was sure that no one in the room could challenge her.

"But it can't be helped. You're rookies who don't know right from left. You remind me of my old self." Kabuto looked wistful and Naruto grunted.

"So what, this is your second time?" Kabuto shrugged.

"No, this is my seventh time." The rest of them looked sufficiently shocked, except Sakura, who decided Kabuto was an excellent spy and it was a shame he was working for the wrong side. "The exam is only held twice a year, so it's my fourth year now."

"So you know a lot about the exams, right?" Shikamaru asked, leaning against one of the walls.

"Kind of. I have information for my cute juniors, if you're willing. With these ninja info cards, I can reveal the inforomation about any genin you can name. I encoded the info with chakra onto these cards. I have spent four whole years gathering this info." Kabuto began to shuffle the cards. "There are about two hundred cards in this deck. They seem blank to the average eye, but if i channel my chakra into them, it reveals the information." He pumped chakra into one of the cards. "This is the number of participants in this year's exams. Hokage-sama made some concessions, and allowed both Kumo and Kiri to send a team each, now that the civil war in Mist is over."

The info was different than the last time. It showed the same 72 genin for Konoha, 30 for Suna, 21 for Ame, 15 for Kusa, 12 for Taki, and 3 for Oto. However, 3 from each Kumo and Kiri showed that this would be a very different exam. Her eyes roved the room and landed on the two genin teams. She spotted Chojuro, Haku of all people, and one who she thought had been a medic during the war. Apparently the civil war had ended in Kirigakure.

The cloud team was Omoi, Karui, and another dark skinned shinobi. She vaguely remembered him as being named J. Both strong teams, Chojuro especially. The kid already had his sword, Hiramekarei, which meant he was already a master swordsman.

"Why do you think the Chunin Exam is jointly conducted in the first place?" Kabuto asked them. Most of them looked thoughtful but no one answered.

"It's because it is a simulation of war, right?" Sakura replied. "As well as checking the strength of neighboring nations. Instead of fighting each other to test each other's strength, the villages send their strongest candidates to each other's Chunin Exam to show off their strength and make it so the other villages won't want to attack them." Kabuto nodded, seemingly impressed.

"RIght. Keeping the power balance is important to the five great nations. If one nation seems too strong, the others will team up to fight them. If one nation seems too weak, a stronger nation will invade them. This is the best attempt to keep that from happening." Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "This is all just a point of global supervision to prevent one nation from becoming too powerful."

"You have individual information, right?" Sasuke suddenly spoke up. This would be a good opportunity to warn the others to stay away from Gaara.

"I do. Do you have their names?" Kabuto asked, sweeping the card back into his deck after making it go blank again. Sasuke nodded.

"Sabaku no Gaara, and Rock Lee of Konoha," Sasuke requested. Two good candidates to reveal, Sakura decided. She hoped someone asked for her info. She wanted to see how much Kabuto had on their team.

"Ah, that makes it quick. Rock Lee first. He's a year older than you. 20 D ranks and 11 C ranks. His Jounin-sensei is Maito Gai. His Taijutsu is very impressive, but his other skills are non-existant. He didn't participate in last years exams, so this is his first time, like you. His teammates are Higurashi Tenten and Hyuuga Neji." Hinata's fist clenched at Neji's name, but Sakura didn't say anything about it.

"Next is Sabaku no Gaara. He has an unknown number of D ranks, 8 C ranks, and a B rank! He's a rookie from another land, so his skills are unknown. The only other info I have is that he has never been injured on a mission." The rookies looked impressed and somewhat scared about this, although Naruto and Sasuke seemed unimpressed. Hinata stepped forward.

"Haruno Sakura of Konoha." Hinata kept her eyes on Kabuto, even as the rest of them shot glances at her. Sakura was glad Hinata asked, but looked annoyed as Kabuto shot a glance at her.

"Very well." He pulled out a card after returning the other two to the deck. "Haruno Sakura, rookie of the year for this year's graduating class. 8 D ranks and 1 A rank and 1 S rank!" He looked up at Sakura. "You've completed an S rank already?" Sakura raised a brow.

"It was a solo mission." She had been paid S rank money for helping take down Danzo, like all the others. She didn't know it had gone on her record. The other genin were staring at her in awe. "The A rank was the last mission my team went on." Naruto nodded his agreement at that, confirming it for the others.

"Interesting. Her jounin-sensei is Hatake Kakashi. The true parameters of her abilities is unknown, but she has shown great taijutsu and genjutsu, as well as medical ninjutsu. She has been compared to Uchiha Itachi as a prodigy." Sasuke's jaw clenched at that, but otherwise nothing happened. The genin stared at Sakura in awe, for they had known she was strong, but no one, not even her team, knew exactly how strong. It helped that she was wearing her hitae-ate on her forehead, to hide the crystal.

"There are a lot of exceptional genin who have some to the take the test this year. Konoha, Suna, Ame, Taki, Oto, Kusa, Kiri, and Kumo are all here. As far as Otogakure goes, it is a small village in a small nation that popped up recently, so there isn't much info yet." Kabuto put his cards away. "A bunch of aces here."

"Kind of makes you lose confidence." Chouji said, munching on his chips. Naruto seemed to be pent up, and a couple of the others looked worried for him. He suddenly turned and yelled at the crowd.

"The name's Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo! I'm going to beat all you suckers, you hear?!" His confident grin certainly reminded Sakura of old times. Sasuke looked annoyed and Ino just laughed.

"The hell is wrong with you?" Kiba asked, and Naruto just continued to grin.

"I feel better now!" He said, putting his arms behind his head. Sasuke grunted but smirked in approval. Suddenly, there was a commotion as the three Oto genin shot forward to attack Kabuto. The first one threw two kunai at the silver-haired spy, causing him to jump back to dodge them. The second appear right in front of him, swinging the gauntlet covered fist at Kabuto's face. Kabuto leaned back to dodge, causing the fist to go right past him. He stood looking triumphant for a second before his glasses shattered. He just frowned for a second before his eyes went wide. He fell to his knees, and puked.

"Kabuto! Are you ok?" Naruto yelled. Sasuke looked interested in the weapon, and the rest looked amazed.

"What happened?" Ino muttered. Kiba and Naruto went to help Kabuto.

"Kabuto, you alright?" Kiba asked. Kabuto sat up and wiped his mouth.

"Yeah, I'm okay." The leader of the Oto genin stepped forward.

"Put this on your cards! The three from Oto, doubtless chunin!"

"Silence you maggots!" A voice shouted out as smoke filled the room. When it cleared, it revealed Ibiki and his gang of Chunin instructors. "Sorry to keep you waiting! I am Morino Ibiki, proctor for the first test of the Chunin Exam."

-RB-

_Konoha had fallen._

_In a long, drawn out battle, the greatest of the hidden villages had been torn to the ground, burned in an endless black inferno unlike anyone had ever seen. Naruto had managed to hold off Tobi and his forces long enough for most of the citizens to get an escort out._

_"Sakura, where are we going?" Ino called out. Sakura turned to her friend._

_"We need to find a safe area and wait for Naruto." Sakura could barely hold it together. Her home was destroyed, her parents were dead, and her boyfriend was out fighting an enemy should couldn't help him fight._

_"But where is that? Do you have somewhere in mind?" Ino asked. Sakura clenched her fist, holding back the tears._

_"I'm sure one of the nearby towns is still intact. Maybe we can stay there for a bit and then find a safe house for us." The others didn't look impressed._

_"But where-"_

_"I DON'T KNOW!" Sakura screamed, tears streaming down her face. "I'VE NEVER HAD TO DO THIS BEFORE! NARUTO AND I DISCUSSED PLANS BUT NEVER MADE ANYTHING CONCRETE!" Ino stepped back. "A lot of people just died. I watched my dad get killed by the White Zetsu, trying to defend the Academy kids. I watched Sasuke kill my mom! I don't have a FUCKING clue where we are going, or what to do." Sakura slipped down to her knees, sobbing. Ino slowly approached._

_"I'm sorry, Sakura. I didn't think about it like that. All of us lost people and we all looked to you without thinking about it." Ino helped Sakura to her feet. "Is there anywhere you can think of?" Sakura hiccuped and wiped her face._

_"Orochimaru has a base nearby. It's been abandoned for years, but with some fuinjutsu work, we can keep Tobi from detecting us. It's south of here." Ino nodded, and began shouting orders. Sakura stood slowly, and then noticed a malignent chakra getting closer. Before she could shout a warning, Ino gasped._

_Sasuke's blade was sheathed through her back, going straight through her heart. Ino blinked for a second, staring at the blade, before slumping down, dead. Sasuke smirked at Sakura, pulling his blade roughly from Ino's body. Sakura stared at her friend for a second before black lines starting crawling down her body, coming from the crystal on her forehead._

_"Oops. If you had just given up Naruto, none of this would have happened." Sakura screamed in rage, and attacked. Sasuke's Susanoo popped into existence around him, but Tsunade had already proved that she could break through one, and Sakura was stronger. She jumped and punched the construct in the ribs, shattering them. Sasuke's eyes went wide, and he quickly jumped out of the construct, causing it to disappear._

_"You killed my mother, burned my village, and now you killed my best friend. There is no redemption for you, Sasuke. You will die here." Sasuke just laughed._

_"Your village killed my whole clan! It's only justice that I do the same! You were always the weak link in our team, Sakura! Don't try to prove it wrong now." Sasuke unleashed a torrent of black fire onto Sakura, but she was able to use the replacement technique. She darted forward, dodging the black fire that erupted from his eye, and began a series of punches and kicks at the Uchiha. Sasuke dodged them with ease, and after a few seconds, he disappeared. Sakura grunted as his blade stabbed through her back._

_She could heal through this with ease. She turned with the blade still in her, ripping it from Sasuke's grip, and struck true with a punch to the chest. Sasuke's Susanoo appeared at the last moment, lessening the blow. Still, he flew across the field, hitting a tree before slumping slightly. Sakura pulled the blade out of her and snapped it in half. She glanced at the shinobi and civilians who were retreating._

_"Orochimaru has a hideout south of here that he abandoned! Go there!" She yelled, and the few shinobi nodded, herding the civilans south in a rush. She turned to see Sasuke aiming at her with his Susanoo, black flame surrounding the tip of the arrow. She tapped a seal on her elbow guard, and a chakra shield appeared around her. The arrow flew, and Sakura went through hand seals._

_"Earth Release: Aegis of the Sage!" She called, and a wall of earth in the shape of a great shield appeared in front of her. The arrow slammed into the wall, causing it to crumble. Sakura used the chance to create a genjutsu, hiding herself from view while projecting an image of herself where she used to be. She darted to the left and then charged Sasuke's Susanoo while he fired another arrow at her illusion. Suddenly, black fire erupted around her, and Sakura was forced to jump to the side. Her shield burned through and some of the Amaterasu got on her arm. She cried out as it burn._

_"Poor, stupid Sakura. Did you think your pathetic illusions could measure up to a Sharingan?" Sasuke laughed maniacally, and Sakura knew she had lost. Suddenly, the burning went away right as she heard Sasuke grunt. She looked up to see Naruto in Kyuubi Chakra mode, with Sasuke in his grip. The other claw reached up and twisted Sasuke's head off of his body. A clone was sitting next to her, sealing the black flame. She had some scorch marks on her arm, but otherwise was unharmed._

_"Are you ok, Sakura-chan?" Sakura nodded._

_"You killed him." It amazed her that he did it so calmly._

_"He was trying to kill you. I could have killed him a lot over the years, but I never wanted to until now." Naruto gestured to Sasuke's head._

_"What should we do with his eyes? It would be a shame to waste them." Naruto had become a lot more... pragmatic since he became Hokage._

_"Seal them away. We'll see who wants to take them. Take the body as well. We can fuse the DNA into the recipient, make the eyes easier to use."_

-RB-

The first exam was standard, exactly the same as last time, down to Naruto making a heroic speech and making a bunch more people stay than normal. Anko showed up and directed them to the Forest of Death. Naruto didn't mock her this time, but Sakura got to keep a closer eye on Orochimaru this time around. He didn't seem to act as though anything was out of the ordinary.

"These are consent forms. Fill them out or go home. If you die, this form says that Konoha isn't to blame for you being weak." Pens and paper were handed out, and all the consent forms were signed. "The goal of this exam is to gather two scrolls. Some teams will be handed a heaven scroll, others will be handed an earth scroll. You have to get one of each and make it to the tower in the middle with both. Do not open the scrolls before you get to the tower. If you do, you will not like the result. All three members of a team have to make it to the tower. If you can't for some reason, say if a member dies, you are disqualified."

Anko suddenly grinned. "Anything goes in this battle. There are no rules other than what I've said." Sakura knew that it really meant that killing other teams and hording scrolls were allowed, the latter encouraged. The less teams to make it to the third exam, the better. Too many teams had meant the preliminary matches last time, although Sakura would prefer those to be in place again. If Orochimaru did die in the forest, then they would be free to complete the exams, and she would prefer only the strongest genin make it to the real finals.

"You can't bring anything you don't already have on you into the forest. The exam is five days in length, so you will need to hunt your own food and gather your own water. There is plenty of game in the forest, even if most it... wants to kill you too." Anko's grin became creepy. "There is also a lot of poisonous stuff in the forest, so be careful not to die from eating something bad. That would be the stupidest death." Anko pointed at a wooden stand with three chunin sitting at it. "We'll exchange your three consent forms for a scroll over there. You will assigned an entrance and then all the gates will open simultaneously. Good luck!"

Like last time, they received a heaven scroll. They all gathered at their gates, and after a few minutes, the gates opened, beginning the test. The three of them shot into the forest.

"We have to stay together in this test. We are stronger than the other teams, so it would be tempting to split up, but there might be something in this forest that could beat us, so stay on guard. Naruto, create a perimeter of clones." Naruto nodded at Sakura's instruction. It was interesting to her how Sasuke and Naruto had juggled team leadership in the last timeline, but here she was, giving them both commands, and they accepted it.

One of the Ame team genin attacked them right off, but Sasuke easily put him down, knocking him unconscious and tying him to a tree. He would probably get eaten by one of the predators of the forest, but at least he had a chance. The Ame genin didn't have his team's scroll, so they moved on.

_Any minute now..._ Sakura thought to herself. She sensed the chakra and stopped. "Down!" She yelled, and they all stuck to the ground with chakra. The blast of wind erupted around them, almost knocking them away despite the chakra. When it ended, the 'Kusa kunoichi' came out, with the straw hat on 'her' head. Sakura grimaced. It was Orochimaru already.

The huge blast of killing intent shot at them, but Sakura was confident the other two could resist it. She jumped back as the two of them jumped to the sides.

"Formation Delta! Don't assume she's dead until confirmed!" Sakura yelled. Naruto grinned and immediately let Kurama's chakra flow forth, to his one-tailed form. Sasuke's Sharingan snapped open, and Sakura suddenly disappeared from view. Orochimaru looked surprised at this, as he barely avoided a blow from Naruto's claws, only to be hit by the chakra. He went tumbling into the woods, slamming into a tree. His eyes snapped open, and he barely rolled out of the way from Sasuke's lightning covered sword.

_These brats are fast! I didn't expect them to be this good!_ he thought, before suddenly gasping in pain. The Sasuke who had missed him faded away, and Sasuke reappeared with his sword sticking through Orochimaru's right shoulder. Orochimaru faded into mud, and Sasuke hissed at the replacement.

Orochimaru reappeared on one of the tree branches above, only to be grabbed by the collar by Sakura, who reappeared from her genjutsu, and punched in the face with all her strength. Orochimaru went tumbling through the trees, breaking several branches before landing on his feet vertically on a tree.

"Kukukuku. That was even with my old teammate, Tsunade. Have you trained under her?" Orochimaru asked, as he pulled the ruined face of the Kusa Kunoichi off of his own. He barely had time to do so as Naruto appeared next to him.

"Wind Release: Blades of the Sage!" Naruto yelled, and reddish blades shot from his mouth at Orochimaru, who just weaved around them, although with some difficulty. Naruto jumped back, and two massive dragons of fire shot upward to where Orochimaru was standing. He was forced to replace himself with a mud clone once more. He stood high on a branch, giggling menacingly at them.

"You are all very skilled. I'm tempted to kill you all to prevent Konoha from owning such fine shinobi." He was forced to stop talking when Sakura shot at him, and they exchange taijutsu combos. Sakura simply tanked his strikes while Orochimaru was forced to dodge all of Sakura's attacks, due to the damage they could pump out. It began to rain overhead, although Orochimaru didn't seem to notice as he fought blow for blow with Sakura.

Sakura suddenly jumped back after a minute of exchange, and Orochimaru just laughed.

"Kukukuku. Are you done already, Haruno Sakura? They say you are a prodigy on Uchiha Itachi's level. Is that all you have?" He taunted, only to see Sakura smirk. Orochimaru heard lightning crackling overhead, and looked up to see a massive dragon of lightning forming above him. His amusement turned to fear.

"This jutsu is called Kirin. Begone with the thunderclap!" Sasuke called out, and the dragon surged forward. Orochimaru attempted to replace himself with a mud clone again, only to find his chakra wasn't responding. Looking down, he saw himself standing on a seal matrix, as the lightning struck him head on. He screamed in pain as the clap of lightning forced all those witnessing it to cover their eyes.

When the light faded, Orochimaru stood where the lightning had struck him, heavy burns all over his body. He stepped back, clearly severely injured, but alive. He was angry, mostly at himself, for underestimating these punks. Nothing they had shown would have been a problem if he had known or even suspected they were as strong as they are. However, they hadn't killed him, so he could make an escape and come around next time.

"You brats are... strong... but, this isn't over." Orochimaru began to jump back when suddenly his body got heavier. Much heavier. With most of his chakra having gone to healing his wounds, he couldn't keep upright. He fell to a knee, and then saw the seal on his collar, where the Haruno brat had grabbed him. It had all been a ploy? He looked up to see the same girl, black lines running from her forehead all the way down her body, the same as Tsunade. She clearly had trained under the female Sannin, although Orochimaru wondered how, since his sources had said that Tsunade had not had contact with Konoha since she had left.

Sakura walked forward slowly, and grabbed the snake Sannin by the collar.

"You... what are you? How are you still a genin? How did you know my tactics?" Orochimaru asked. He would die but wouldn't be gone forever. He had made sure of that with his cursed seals.

"I am your death, traitor. I will soon be the strongest kunoichi in the world, and I will make sure your legacy is forgotten." Sakura reared her fist back, and punched.

Orochimaru's head flew into the trees, seperated from his body.

-END-

A theme with me is that any person can defeat anyone else with the right circumstances. Orochimaru would probably have won against team Seven currently in a full on fight. A combination of him underestimating them and not wanting to alert Konoha to his presence caused him to go into the fight unprepared to face someone as powerful as Sakura, who knew nearly everything about his fighting style and techniques. Similarly to Sasori, although Sasori didn't have to fend off a Kirin and a one-tailed Naruto as well.

R&R PLEASE!

Next Time

" _Sasuke-kun! You could say our fight was destined! I will show you the genius of hard work!" Lee yelled, his arms pumping in anticipation. "May we have a good match!" Sasuke scoffed._

" _We'll see if you can measure up to an Uchiha, Lee. Good luck." Sasuke's eyes flashed the red of his Sharingan. Hayate looked between the two of them._

" _Both fighters ready? Match begin!"_


	12. A Different Preliminaries

Chapter 12 woohoo!

 

Alert: Due to work and college related things, there may or may not be a chapter released next week. You have been warned.

I don't own Naruto, because I'd be rich, fat, and dead if I did.

-RB-

Orochimaru had an earth scroll on him, which made the rest of the test easy. They made a beeline for the tower afterwards.

"Sakura, was that Orochimaru of the Sannin?" Sasuke asked. Sakura glanced at the boy as they jumped tree to tree.

"Yeah. That was Orochimaru." Naruto looked confused at this.

"Wasn't Orochimaru supposed to be the strongest Sannin? But we beat him so easily." Sakura nodded. A lot had to be said for the element of surprise, the power of underestimating an opponent, and pre-knowledge of an opponent's skills.

"If he had not underestimated us and we had not gotten the drop on him, it would not have been that easy. Hokage-sama could solo all three of us. I specifically came up with Delta to take a superior opponent down quickly. It was after Sasori that I knew we needed a plan like that," Sakura explained. Naruto nodded in acceptance. It was amazing how much trust they had in her when she didn't ever give them the full story. Sometimes it made her feel guilty.

"How did you know that the 'kunoichi' we ran into was strong?" Sasuke asked. Sakura shrugged.

"That wind jutsu was not something a normal genin could have come up with, plus 'her' eyes never left Sasuke after the first exam." Sasuke looked slightly sick at that, and Naruto laughed. She wasn't concerned about meeting any other teams now. The only other team that had finished on the first day in the original timeline was Gaara's team.

"So basically, knowledge is power," Naruto summed up, and Sakura nodded. Sasuke scoffed at the the blonde.

"Stop trying to sound smart, dobe. It doesn't befit you." Naruto puffed up in annoyance.

"Shut up, Sasuke-teme! No one asked you!" Sakura giggled once more. Soon, they made it to the tower, and walked inside, releasing the scrolls. Iruka appeared, surprised at the speed they had managed to complete the task. He congratulated them and explained the test in a much more expedited version of the original speech he had given. Afterwards, the three retired to one of the rooms, where Sakura had both of them begin training. Naruto worked on his sealing while Sakura and Sasuke trained their genjutsu.

The goal of the training was to put an opponent in a genjutsu and see how long it took them to notice. The longer, the better. They sparred lightly with taijutsu, using suble shifts in positioning as part of the genjutsu, making the opponent misread where they were. Sakura was more experienced with genjutsu but Sasuke's Sharingan allowed him to make it a pretty even match.

For five days they trained, and greeted teams as the headed in, and on the fifth day, Sakura was confident no one besides a Dojutsu user could detect her illusions.

-RB-

The teams were herded into the room they had the preliminaries in during her original timeline. She noted that both Kabuto's team and the Oto team were missing, but the number of teams hadn't changed. Replacing those teams were the Kiri team and the Kumo team. The Kiri team's third member had apparently injured his leg badly, when his team had clashed with Gaara's team. According to Kiba, Gaara had crushed the Kiri genin's leg with his sand.

The teams spread out over the balconies as they noticed that the Hokage, the ANBU Commander, and the Jounin Commander, as well as several ANBU and the jounin-senseis, were present. There was a statue of the ram seal behind them, and on the other side of the room was an electronic board posted on the wall.

"If I could *cough* have your attention please. *Cough Cough* Because of the amount of teams left in the exams, we will need *Cough* to hold some preliminary matches before moving on to the final exam. *Cough* From here on, you will be *cough* fighting as individuals, not as teams. If *cough* anyone would like to give up now, *cough* it will not affect the rest of your team." Hayate explained as he stepped forward. Sakura wanted to cure him now but had decided to wait until just before he died originally to give him the cure that would put him under for two days.

The Kiri team's injured member elected to give up, which left them with the same number of genin that had been fighting during the original preliminaries. After Jiraiya gave a small speech about how the exams were held the way they were to avoid war, Hayate explained the rules. Fight until one side gave up or he ruled the fight was over. He could step in and interfere if he saw the need. Anyone who tried to fight between matched or after he called a match would be disqualified.

The first match was Karui vs Temari. Sakura knew that, with the participants being different, that the match ups would be vastly different this time around. Karui hopped off the railing, and Temari calmly walked down, smirking the whole time.

"You look strong, beating you will be fun," Temari taunted as she unfolded her fan slightly. Karui looked unimpressed as she unsheathed her blade.

"You look like a slut. Like a slut could beat me." Temari's face turned to anger as Hayate glanced between the two.

"Both contestants ready? Begin!" He hopped out of the way as Temari immediately let off a burst of wind with the first moon of her fan. Karui jumped to the left, lightning chakra crackling down the length of her katana. Sakura knew Karui had a disadvantage here because wind beat lightning, but if she managed to get in close, she would have an advantage. Temari was focused on not letting that happen. She immediately opened her fan to full, and released a massive gust of wind, making all the observers grab onto whatever they could and shield their faces.

Karui had stabbed the blade into the stone of the floor, the lightning chakra allowing her to create an anchor. As soon as the wind died down, she charged forward once more. Temari backpedaled, clearly worried about letting the sword-wielding kunoichi getting in range. She released another massive wind wave, and Karui was forced to anchor herself again. Temari jumped up onto the fingers of the statue, and began to spin in place. Karui weathered out the wind and jumped on the statue, running up the length of the fingers to strike at the fan user. Sakura saw a small smirk on Temari's face.

"Wind Style: Tornado Vacuum Technique!" She called, and all the air blasted away from her. Karui choked slightly at the lack of air, but aimed a strike at Temari as she jumped into the air above the Suna kunochi. Temari held her fan up in an attempt to block the attack, but had to jump out of the way when the sword split the fan in half. She wasn't quite fast enough, as a cut appeared on her shoulder. Karui, however, barely crawled out of the wind vortex, sucking in breath after breath. Temari threw a few kunai at her, and hit the dark-skinned girl in the back several times, causing Karui to yell out in pain.

Temari was lacking her main weapon and was slightly injured, and Karui still had her weapon but was more severely injured. Temari threw another few kunai at Karui, who jumped out of the way, grimacing in pain from the wounds on her back. She charged Temari again, her single-mindedness seeming to pay off. Temari went through some hand seals.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!" The blast of wind caught Karui off guard, and blasted her back toward where the kunai were. Temari grinned.

"Katsu!" The seals on the kunai activated, causing a huge explosion. Hayate looked worried, as if he thought Karui might have been seriously injured or dead after that. When the smoke cleared, a log was charred and split where Karui had been. Temari began looking about for her only to find a katana blade at her throat.

"Surrender," Karui said menacingly, some scorch marks covering half her face. Temari sighed.

"Proctor, I give up." Hayate nodded.

"Match finished! Winner, Karui of Kumo!" Karui grinned and sheathed her sword, heading off with Temari to get some medical attention. Sakura was fairly impressed at the match, but hope that Karui would show more in the finals. If that was all she had, then she wouldn't make it far. Hayate watched the board shuffle names until it stopped.

"Next match will be Higurashi Tenten vs Haruno Sakura." Sakura was somewhat relieved, since this meant she wouldn't have to pull out any of her better moves. She hopped off the railing onto the arena below, with Tenten doing the same. Sakura simply nodded at the older girl, who simply gave a tight nod back. She seemed worried about fighting Sakura.

"Are both contestants ready? Match begin!" Tenten immediately started with a barrage of thrown weapons, but Sakura weaved through them effortlessly. Sakura disappeared into mist, and reappeared behind the girl, sighing. Tenten released the genjutsu, but Sakura could already end things. She grabbed Tenten in a choke hold, squeezing until Tenten could barely breathe.

"Give up, or I'll break your neck." Tenten nodded and motioned at the proctor, choking out sounds. Hayate commanded Sakura release her, and she did.

"Winner, Haruno Sakura!" Naruto cheered for her and Sakura just chuckled. Tenten glared at her but Sakura just shrugged.

"Sorry, Tenten. Maybe next year." The board began to shuffle once more as both of the girls jumped back up to their teams. When the board finally stopped, Sasuke grinned.

"Next match, Sasuke Uchiha vs Rock Lee!" It seemed as though Lee would get his match. Sakura decided not to warn Sasuke of Lee's true speed. If Sasuke could pull a victory here, he would have to earn it in full. Sasuke jumped off the platform, doing a fancy quadruple front flip, and then landing with his sword drawn. Lee simply hopped over the railing, landing and standing there with fire in his eyes.

"Sasuke-kun! You could say our fight was destined! I will show you the genius of hard work!" Lee yelled, his arms pumping in anticipation. "May we have a good match!" Sasuke scoffed.

"We'll see if you can measure up to an Uchiha, Lee. Good luck." Sasuke's eyes flashed the red of his Sharingan. Hayate looked between the two of them.

"Both fighters ready? Match begin!" Rock Lee ran forward; fast but not as fast as Naruto. He opened up with a spinning roundhouse kick. Sasuke ducked under it easily and attacked with a barrage of swift sword slashes. Lee blocked the first one with the bottom of his sandal and kicked off, allowing him to avoid the rest. Sasuke stood back, waiting for Lee. He seemed to be playing the battle cautious.

Lee attacked another couple of times, each time ending with him avoiding a counter attack and retreating. He frowned as he realized that Sasuke was faster than him. Suddenly, Gai called out.

"Lee! Take them off!" Lee looked up at his sensei, and nodded resolutely. He retreated all the way up to the top of the ram seal statue. Reaching beneath his leg warmers, he pulled off his weights.

"I can move much faster now!" Lee's eyes went wide when a massive fireball came at him from Sasuke's position. He was forced to jump out of the way, dropping the weights as he did so. Sasuke appeared behind him.

"This battle was over before it began!" Sasuke yelled, swinging his sword down at Lee's neck. Lee whipped out a kunai, and kicked out with his foot, hitting Sasuke's own foot. This caused both genin to spin in midair, and Lee was able to block the sword strike with his kunai, before kicking off Sasuke's stomach and landing on the far side of the arena. Sasuke flipped in midair and landed on the wall, sticking to it with chakra. He hopped off the wall and landed, sheathing his sword.

Lee suddenly disappeared, leaving a trail of broken ground beneath him. Sasuke barely dodged the first attack, but took a fist to the face and was forced to block another kick before he could register the punch. Lee circled Sasuke faster than the eye could see, unleashing blow after blow. Sasuke could barely block half of them, each one adding more damage to the last Uchiha. When Lee's barrage finally stopped, he slid back to the wall with a satisfied smile on his face.

Sasuke was barely standing, swaying on his feet. Or, at least, he appeared to be, as the image faded away and Lee was suddenly sent flying with a kick. Another fireball followed, and Lee rebounded off the wall, dodging the jutsu. Sasuke appeared in front of him, his body now covered in lightning chakra. He launched a barrage of punches. Lee tried to block the first one, only for the electrical current to cause his muscles to contract. He went stiff, and Sasuke unleashed a full combo reminiscent of the Shishi Rendan.

Lee hit the far wall and cried out in pain. He could barely move, and it looked like he would lose the battle in short order. He barely stood, and Gai spoke out again.

"Lee… give up! I can't allow you to use that technique against a Konoha shinobi." Lee looked hurt at this but nodded.

"Proctor! I give up! I will make chunin next year, yosh!" Sasuke sighed and deactivated his Sharingan and cut the flow to his lightning coat. He walked up to Lee, offering a handshake.

"You are skilled, Lee. I was almost out of chakra," Sasuke confessed, and Lee nodded.

"Your genjutsu was most impressive, Sasuke-kun. I look forward to a rematch someday!" Sasuke nodded his affirmation and they parted.

"Winner, Uchiha Sasuke!" Ino cheered and Sakura smiled at the boy, nodding her head in approval. She knew Sasuke might have lost if Lee had been allowed to open the gates, but she respected Gai for not allowing him to do so against a Konoha shinobi. Not everyone had defensive power like Gaara, and both the Primary Lotus and the Reverse Lotus would likely seriously injure or kill someone who didn't have the defenses that Gaara had.

"The next match will be Yamanaka Ino vs Aburame Shino!" Hayate called out. Shino calmly walked down while Ino shuddered next to Sakura.

"Of course it had to be bug boy. Why me?" Ino's shoulders slumped, and she calmly walked down to the arena.

"Are both fighters ready? Begin!" A swarm of insects immediately erupted from Shino's body, heading toward Ino's location.

"Gross gross gross gross gross!" Ino yelled as she ran away from the bugs, using chakra to stick to the walls, as most of the arena floor was covered in his insects. She unleashed a barrage of shuriken at Shino as she ran, and a wall of insects appeared in front of the boy. He flicked his fingers, and all the insects shot forward at Ino at the same time. She shrieked as the swarmed her, and a puff of smoke revealed that she had replaced herself with a log.

Another barrage of kunai came at Shino, causing another wall of insects to appear to block them. Shino frowned when the kunai exploded, taking large chunks of the insect wall out in a blaze of fire. Shino seemed as angry as Sakura had ever seen him get, although she knew that he treasured his insects and hated when people intentionally destroyed them.

His insects swarmed with a new purpose, and Sakura was sure he had made all of the insects in his body go forward to attack Ino. Most of the arena, both ground and wall, had been covered in insects, and Ino spent a moment looking worried as they all came at her. She jumped off the wall, sticking to the ram seal statue, and pulled out a scroll.

"I was hoping to not have to use this until the finals…" she muttered, and released the seal. A torrent of water shot out of the scroll, covering the arena in a couple inches of water. Shino managed to pull his insects back before the water could hurt them, and then released them into the air this time, as they shot toward Ino once more. Ino just smirked.

"Suiton: Suigadan!" Several spiraling spouts of water shot toward Shino from all directions. For the first time in the battle, he was forced to jump out of the way, letting his insects take some of the damage in his place. Sakura saw Ino go through a few hand seals and begin building her chakra up inside her mouth. Shino's insects closed in, and right as they were about to overtake her, she released another water technique.

"Suiton: Teppodama!" A massive bullet of water shot out of her mouth, hitting the mass of insects point blank and destroying many of them. She retreated once more, looking worse for wear. Sakura imagined that using the two water techniques had taken a lot of her chakra. Shino's insects closed in, with only about half of the original number of insects remaining, if Sakura could guess.

"You appear to be running out of steam, Ino-san. I would suggest giving up if you don't want all of your chakra sucked out," Shino suggested calmly, belying his true feelings about his hive being half destroyed. Ino glanced around as the insects came closer, before smirking once more. Shino suddenly grunted in pain, and the Ino the insects were approaching faded into nothing. She reappeared behind Shino, a kunai stabbed into the boy's back.

"You should give up, Shino-san. The poison I just introduced into your system can be quite… painful if not taken care of right away." Ino's taunts were typical of the girl. She had always been a little cruel. Shino jumped away and directed his insects at the Yamanaka heiress, only for Ino to grin as they swarmed her once more. A puff of smoke took her place, revealing a log with a number of explosive tags on them. When Shino went to retract his insects, a dome of earth erupted around the log, trapping them in. A muffled explosion sounded out, and Shino fell to his knees. When the earth dome retracted, no insects were left.

"Proctor… I surrender." Shino's voice sounded even more monotone than normal. He seemed broken on the inside.

"Winner, Yamanaka Ino!" Ino grinned and then collapsed to a knee, breathing heavily. Shikamaru came and helped her back up to the platform, where she slumped against a wall.

"How did you know he would send his entire hive after you?" Sasuke asked. Ino smiled up at Sasuke.

"Well, the Yamanaka clan specializes in mind games. I knew that if I poisoned him, he would try to end the battle. After that, it was easy." Ino explained. Shino was taken away to get the poison out of his system. Ino looked up at Sakura.

"Pretty good, right?" Sakura nodded. It had been an impressive show of battlefield manipulation, and Sakura could have sworn she saw admiration in Sasuke's eyes at one point. A small part of her was jealous of that, but she quickly dismissed it. She could have all of Sasuke's attention if she so wanted. The point was that she didn't desire a thirteen year old boy's attention. Maybe in a few years…

"The next match *cough* will be Yuuki Haku vs Sabaku no Kankuro!" Hayate called out.

Haku smiled softly and travelled down to the arena, while Kankuro took his time getting down the stairs. Kankuro grinned at Haku, leering at the effeminate boy.

"Listen, girly. You should give up. I don't want to wreck that pretty face." Haku simply gazed at him impassively.

"Are both fighters ready? Match begin!" Haku immediately went into a familiar stance.

"Hidden Mist Technique!" The arena was covered in a thick fog. Sakura couldn't see what was going on, but she could hear heavy breathing and grunts coming from Kankuro. When the mist finally cleared, Haku was standing over Kankuro, Karasu limp on the ground to the right of them. Haku's kunai was pointed straight at Kankuro.

"I would give up." Haku leaned down. "By the way, I'm a boy." Kankuro's face went white at that, and Sakura heard some of the Konoha shinobi laughing.

"Proctor, I surrender!" Sakura frowned. It wasn't looking good for the Suna team. Last go through, their entire team had advanced to the finals. Granted that both Kankuro and Temari had fought weak opponents, but it was still a massive difference. Naruto suddenly cheered at the board, and Sakura looked up.

Uzumaki Naruto vs Omoi

-End-

Shorter chapter this time.

R&R please!

Next time

" _Sakura, you are going to be on your own. All Hokage-sama told me was that she was reported to be near Karak town, trying to lie low for a week or so." Sakura grinned, for she would finally be able to meet Tsunade again. Once she signed the slug contract, she would ask them about learning senjutsu. Plus, she thought that Tsunade could help her with the new technique she was developing. "He also asked that you deliver this letter to her, which explains that she is required to return to Konoha to mentor a new generation of medics so that all teams can have a competent field medic."_

_That had been Tsunade's dream at one point, and Sakura knew it was the best way to have her return to the village short of forcing her. The fact that Jiraiya would likely pay off her debts was just a bonus._


	13. Preliminaries Pt. 2

Standard Disclaimer

 

As a side note, I've had this creative bug bothering me a lot recently. Normally when this happens, I just go look for a fic around the premise I think of and I'm satisfied. However, I can't find anything about this premise so I'mma put out a request for you.

Find me an HP fem!Sirius X James Potter fic where Harry is their son.

There are several small changes I made in previous chapters. I removed a couple of lines that Itachi had that made it seem like Sakura wasn't anything special.

Part 2 of the Chunin Exam Prelims.

-RB-

"The next match will be Uzumaki Naruto vs Omoi of Kumo!" Hayate called out. Naruto grinned, hopping off the railing he had been crouching on, landing down on the arena. He put his hands behind his head like normal, his fox-like grin revealing a confidence that few could match. Come to think of it, in both timelines, Naruto had gone into most fights without even thinking he could lose, even if he was outclassed.

Omoi was arguing quietly with Karui, before she pushed him so hard he went tumbling over the railing and landing in the arena. He glared up at his partner but pulled his katana and nodded.

"Both fighters ready? Begin!" Neither fighter moved. Naruto still stood casually, and Sakura noted that there was an iota of arrogance in his stance. Omoi stood, waiting for Naruto to make the first move, hand wrapped around the blade of his sword. Suddenly, a clone appeared underneath Omoi, kicking upwards. The dark-skinned boy just moved his chin out of the way, dispatching the clone with a swift slash. Naruto just kept grinning.

Four clones appeared around Omoi, attacking with their bracer blades. Omoi was forced to jump away, dispatching one of the clones with an aggressive slash. He backpedaled, deflecting attacks from the three clones, unable to counterattack between the constant attacks. He jumped onto the wall, rebounded, and his sword erupted in lightning chakra. He cut through the clones as they tried to block, the katana cutting through the blades.

"Clever of you. You probably have a million clones hidden under the water, transformed as pebbles," Omoi said, cutting the chakra from his sword. Naruto's grin never left his face, but he didn't answer. "Fortunately, I have an answer for that." More clones popped out and attacked. Omoi formed his own cross seal, and two shadow clones appear, one on either side of him. The three of them dashed forward, cutting through clone after of clone of Naruto. Still, Naruto never moved or let the grin leave his face.

The two clones of Omoi moved ahead, fighting off more clones as Omoi went through some hand seals, his sword sheathed.

"Raiton: Sandaboruto!" He cried, releasing a mass of lightning chakra around him. Several dozen lightning bolts went into the water, and over fifty puffs of smoke appeared. Naruto was forced to move, jumping onto the wall to avoid being shocked by the electrified water. Omoi smirked at the blonde boy, pulling his katana once more.

"Impressive. It looks like I will actually have to try." Naruto triggered his own blades, and charged toward Omoi. Omoi's clones moved to intercept, but Naruto suddenly put on a burst of speed, dispatching each with a single strike. He kept moving, the strikes having fit into his charge so fluidly that one might have thought it to be choreographed. Omoi set into a defensive stance, his sword erupting in lightning chakra once more.

Naruto swiped rapidly at Omoi, spinning and adding force into each strike. Unlike the clone blades, Naruto's bracer blades simply clanged against Omoi's lightning blade. When she looked closely, she could see wind chakra around Naruto's blades. She knew that Naruto had trained a little under Asuma, learning how to infuse his weapon with wind chakra. She wondered if he could extend the blade like the Sarutobi.

A rapid exchange of bladed strikes occurred. Naruto was faster and had two blades, but Omoi had more skill and a reach advantage. Neither side gave in, continuing the assault. Scratches appeared along Omoi's arms, and Naruto had a decent cut on his cheek. It was a brilliant display of armed combat, and Naruto finally backed off to avoid Omoi's katana.

"You're good. Really good. You might even be better with a sword than Sasuke," Naruto grinned. He appeared to be having fun. Omoi smiled at that.

"You are also skilled. Those weapons sure are unique." Naruto nodded. "However, you're going to have to try harder to defeat me." Naruto's grin widened, almost evilly.

"You asked for it." The room's temperature suddenly dropped as Sakura felt a little of the Kyuubi's chakra come out. His eyes morphed to red, and the killing intent he had been withholding suddenly released and multiplied. Omoi choked and jumped back, his eyes wide. He immediately began going through hand seals, but Naruto appeared in front of him before he could finish.

" **Like I would let you!** " Naruto's voice, deepened by Kurama's chakra, had always been menacing, but now it was pretty frightening, even to her. He kicked Omoi so hard in the stomach that Omoi flew back and then puked. Naruto appeared in front of him again, kneeing him in the chin, with one hand gripping Omoi's hair to prevent the boy from tumbling away. He let loose blow after blow, with blood splattering the floor beneath him. Finally, Hayate was forced to interfere.

"Stop! Omoi is no longer able to fight. The winner *cough* is Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto let go of Omoi's hair, and the dark-skinned shinobi collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Medics came out to carry him away, and Naruto simply jumped back up to the platform that Team Seven was waiting on.

"That was pretty brutal, Naruto," Sasuke commented, and Naruto shrugged.

"He wanted me to try harder, so I did." Sakura eyed Naruto warily. The boy was crueler and more likely to kill in this timeline. She only hoped that didn't have any real negative consequences in the future.

"The next match will be Hyuuga Neji vs Nara Shikamaru!" Shikamaru immediately groaned in annoyance, although Sakura suspected that it was because he was fighting Neji specifically, not fighting in general.

Both opponents squared up, although it took Shikamaru a minute to get down there. Sakura knew this would be a tough battle for him, since Neji was smart and knew about the Nara shadow jutsu.

"I would give up now, if I were you. You Nara are smart, but you cannot compete against a prodigy like me. You are fated to lose." Sakura cringed at that. She forgot that Neji was a destiny addict.

"As troublesome as this is, I can't just give up. If I do, my team, especially Ino, will never leave me alone. And my mom will kill me. Sorry, Neji-san. I will be forced to fight." Shikamaru sighed and pulled his hands out of his pockets; slipping a kunai from his pouch and holding it reverse style.

"Very well. You shall lose." Neji sank into the Juuken stance and waited for the match to begin.

"Both fighters ready? Match begin!" Neji shot forward immediately, clearly aiming to end the fight early. Shikamaru held his hands up in the ram seal, and his shadow raced forward as well. Neji backed up but was surprised when the shadow kept going. He was forced to retreat half way up the wall. Shikamaru smirked.

"I have to thank Ino, as troublesome as she is. The water can extend my shadow due to the shadows it causes. Neji, do you honestly think you can win against me if I control the entire battlefield?" Shikamaru's shadow retreated, and Neji glared at him, before smirking as well.

"You are not the only one who must thank someone." Neji went through hand seals, and Sakura's eyes went wide. A Hyuuga was using a jutsu! "Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!" A massive dragon of water rose from the water on the floor, using most of it up. It reared back and shot toward Shikamaru, who quickly went through his own hand seals.

"Katon: Gokyaku no Jutsu!" He called, and a large fireball shot from him toward the water dragon. The two jutsu clashed in the middle of the arena, causing a huge burst of steam to cloud the area.

Neji appeared at the top of the ram seal statue, and smirked. He released a barrage of kunai, not into the mist, but at the light fixtures. All the lights in the arena went out, and Neji stood in the darkness. Sakura heard Shikamaru curse, and knew that this fight was over.

"Proctor, I, Nara Shikamaru, give up!" Sakura heard, and a bunch of lights were lit. She could see they were torches, as the steam cleared away.

"Winner, Hyuuga Neji!" Naruto frowned at this.

"I don't get it. Why did he give up?" Sakura gestured to the lights.

"The Nara clan uses chakra to manipulate shadows. In total darkness, there are no shadows, so nothing for Shikamaru to manipulate. Neji knew this and took out the lights to nullify Shikamaru's jutsu. Shikamaru knows some elemental jutsu, and his taijutsu isn't bad, but his ace jutsu is the Shadow Possession, so he knew he couldn't keep up with Neji." Sakura finished her explanation, and Naruto nodded.

"So Shikamaru might have beaten Neji if they had been outside?" Sasuke smirked.

"Look, the dobe is using his brain for once." Naruto turned toward Sasuke, annoyed.

"What's that supposed to mean? I used my brain all the time in fights!" Naruto yelled, and Sakura laughed at their antics.

"Naruto, we aren't in a fight. You generally act first, think later." Naruto frowned at Sakura.

"Not you too, Sakura-chan!" Sakura watched Shikamaru approached Neji.

"Never thought the Hyuuga would use jutsu. I thought you lot were above using primitive techniques or whatever." Neji frowned at that description but ignored the implications.

"We were, until Hinata-sama came in from her team training one day and proceeded to dismantle Hanabi-sama in a match by using some sort of lightning technique in conjunction with the Juuken. When one of the elders challenged her on it, she invoked the right of replacement, a Hyuuga clan law that allows the heir or heiress to challenge the leader of the clan for the right to lead." Neji glanced up at Hinata, who was staring blankly back, no emotion on her face. It was then that Sakura noticed that Hinata's clothes had become more shinobi-like, that her hair had grown out a little, that she looked much more business-like than before.

"Hinata-sama defeated Hiashi-sama using both lightning and fire jutsu in conjunction with the Juuken. She is the clan head now, and decreed that all Hyuuga must learn elemental jutsu in addition to the Juuken." Sakura gaped at Hinata, who smirked back. Had Sakura's strength influenced Hinata to that degree? In the last timeline, both Naruto and Sakura had agreed that Hinata had possessed a large amount latent talent that she had never tapped into. Had possessing a spine and some courage really allowed Hinata to progress so rapidly? Hiashi was no joke; the man would have been a challenge to her as she was now. Did that mean that Hinata was as strong as Sakura?

"Interesting. How come the rest of the village didn't hear about this?" Shikamaru asked, and Neji shrugged.

"She took the clan head position the day before the exams started. Only Hokage-sama knew about it until now." Neji seemed pleased that she had taken the spot. Hinata had always wanted to get rid of the cursed seal that was branded on the branch members of the clan. Sakura hoped she would succeed.

"The next match will be Hyuuga Hinata vs J of Kumo!" Hayate called. When both opponents squared off, Hinata raised a brow.

"Since you Kumo shinobi are allowed to attend our chunin exam, does that mean the Raikage apologized for trying to kidnap me and forcing the death of my uncle?" Hinata asked, and J's brows tightened in anger.

"We have told you that the ambassador went rogue, and we meant it." Hinata shrugged.

"Seems not. Very well, I will allow you the chance to apologize after I bring you within an inch of death." Hinata's Byakugan activated, and J pulled a wakizashi.

"Both fighters ready? Begin!" Hinata shot forward, her hands crackling in lightning chakra. J jumped back and unleashed a barrage of kunai and shuriken toward the girl, but Hinata simply jumped to the side, continuing her trek forward. J backpedaled, attempting to put distance between him and the incoming threat, but Hinata was too fast. She was upon the dark-skinned shinobi before he could react, lashing out with four precise strikes. J screamed in pain as lightning chakra shot through his system, aided by the fact that it was his Tenketsu that were hit. He collapsed to the ground, twitching slightly.

"Are you sure you don't want to apologize?" Hinata asked sinisterly. J glanced up and spit at Hinata, who moved her head out of the way of the saliva ball. "I guess not." She held up a half-ram seal and J screamed as more electricity channeled through his body. "How about now? If you don't apologize, your tenketsu will be burned out and you will be unable to continue being a shinobi." Sakura shuddered. She had never seen Hinata so sadistic before. It was worrying, that her influence caused the gentle Hyuuga girl she once knew to become a sadistic, arrogant torturer like this.

"I'm sorry!" J cried out, and Hinata raised a brow.

"Sorry for what?"

"I'm sorry that my village tried to kidnap you as a child! I'm sorry that your uncle died from the incident!" Hinata smiled at that and released the ram seal. J fell quiet, no electricity running through his body.

"I believe he is unable to fight now, proctor." Hinata strode back up the stairs to her team. Hayate looked a bit sick at the display, but nodded.

"Winner, Hyuuga Hinata!" J was rushed away by the medics, and Karui, who had returned during Sasuke's fight, glared at the Hyuuga clan head. Sakura leaned in close to Naruto.

"Go ask Hinata how she got so strong." Naruto glanced at her.

"Why?"

"I want to know how she got so strong. And she has a crush on you." Sakura liked teasing Naruto about it, since he had found out. He still only had eyes for Sakura, but at least he had the decency to acknowledge Hinata's feelings. He blushed and nodded.

"Hey, Hinata!" Naruto called, jogging over to her. Hinata blushed slightly and smiled at the boy.

"Naruto-kun, how can I help you?" Naruto grinned and scratched the back of his head.

"Ano, how did you get so strong? You really kicked butt-ttebayo!" Hinata blushed a little deeper but her smile became a thousand watts brighter.

"Well, my father refused to train me, so I asked Kurenai-sensei if I could get elemental training from someone. She brought me a chakra paper and I came out with fire and lightning natures." Sakura was glad Hinata's stutter was gone. "I learned from Kakashi-sensei about lightning nature, and Kurenai-sensei taught me some fire nature, although both refused to teach me any jutsu. Once I mastered lightning chakra, I infused it into the Juuken. I used this power to go home and defeat my sister and father, and then forced my father to teach me the Hyuuga Main branch techniques." Naruto listened intently, fascinated.

"That's pretty awesome, Hinata! I'm looking forward to seeing you in the finals!" Naruto meandered back to his team. Sakura raised a brow at Kakashi, who shrugged.

"You told me to do all I could to make Konoha stronger at one point. She asked for help, so I gave it." Sakura privately wondered where Kakashi got the time to do that, considering he had been training them near-constantly.

The next match was Chouji vs Chojuro. As much as Sakura wanted Chouji to win, he wasn't much stronger than his original timeline counterpart, and Chojuro was already a member of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist. The fight was quick, ending after Chouji used his Human Boulder technique and Chojuro turned his sword into a giant hammer and knocked him away into a wall, causing the boy to go unconscious.

The last battle was Gaara vs Kiba, who simply gave up, not willing to die against the psychotic Suna genin. Hayate gathered the winners in the middle of the arena, and walked up to them with a box.

"All of you will take a number from the box. This will determine your match in the finals, and your placement in the tournament bracket." Each of them took a number, and then he asked them to call their names out in order.

"One, Uzumaki Naruto."

"Two, Yuuki Haku."

"Three, Chojuro of Kiri."

"Four, Hyuuga Neji."

"Five, Hyuuga Hinata."

"Six, Karui of Kumo."

"Seven, Uchiha Sasuke."

"Eight, Yamanaka Ino."

"Nine, Haruno Sakura."

"Ten, Sabaku no Gaara."

Hayate nodded as he finished writing the names into the brackets. Because of the off number of people, two people would get a bye round.

Match 1: Uzumaki Naruto vs Yuuki Haku

Match 2: Match 1 Winner vs Chojuro of Kiri.

Match 3: Hyuuga Hinata vs Hyuuga Neji

Match 4: Karui of Kumo vs Uchiha Sasuke

Match 5: Match 4 Winner vs Yamanaka Ino

Match 6: Haruno Sakura vs Sabaku no Gaara

Sakura stared at the bracket. She was strong, almost as strong as she was in the last timeline, but her style might not do well against Gaara. She wasn't fast enough to get around his sand shield, nor did her jutsu have the ability to punch through the sand. She didn't know if she could punch through it herself, but the problem was that those who used taijutsu against Gaara had to be fast or they would end up getting caught by the sand they were punching. She had to figure out a strategy to take the jinchuriki.

Naruto had some bad luck. He had to go into a match with Chojuro with a handicap. She hoped Naruto could beat the Kiri genin, but wasn't confident he could. Sasuke had a bit easier time, although he would be tired going into the fight with Ino, which could prove disastrous. She glanced at Neji, who looked somewhat worried about fighting Hinata.

"Neji, I will not use the seal in our fight, I promise you. However, you must come at me with all your might. If you don't, you will not walk out of that arena." Hinata's voice carried steel that she had never possessed in the last timeline. Neji glanced at her, and nodded. The genin were dismissed, and they met up with their instructors.

"I can't express how proud I am of you three. A whole rookie team making it to the chunin exam finals is very impressive." Kakashi eye smiled at them, and Sakura almost felt like he was patronizing them. "I'm sure Gai is weeping in sorrow that my team is almost certainly stronger than his."

"Lee would have beaten me if he had been allowed to go all out," Sasuke said in an unusually humble manner. Naruto gaped at the boy.

"True, but if Gai made the right call. If I can guess right, he would have used a technique that probably would have killed you. I doubt even Sakura could stand up to such a technique." Sakura almost nodded in agreement to Kakashi. Even with her regeneration techniques, she knew that she would have a tough time standing up after a Reverse Lotus.

"Who are you and what have you done with the teme?" Naruto asked, and Sasuke glared at him.

"Shut up, dobe." Kakashi glanced at each team member for a moment before speaking again.

"Naruto, Hokage-sama has offered to train you personally during the month before the Final Exam. Normally, he wouldn't be allowed to treat a genin with so much special treatment, but he said that he has a couple of jutsu that are yours by birthright." Naruto looked confused for a moment before grinning. Sakura knew he was referencing the Rasengan and the Summoning Jutsu.

"Sasuke, you and I will coordinate with your mother to teach you more about the Sharingan and expand your knowledge of kenjutsu." Sasuke nodded grimly. That was expected. Kakashi turned to Sakura.

"Sakura, you are going to be on your own. All Hokage-sama told me was that she was reported to be near Karak town, trying to lie low for a week or so." Sakura grinned, for she would finally be able to meet Tsunade again. Once she signed the slug contract, she would ask them about learning senjutsu. Plus, she thought that Tsunade could help her with the new technique she was developing. "He also asked that you deliver this letter to her, which explains that she is required to return to Konoha to mentor a new generation of medics so that all teams can have a competent field medic."

That had been Tsunade's dream at one point, and Sakura knew it was the best way to have her return to the village short of forcing her. The fact that Jiraiya would likely pay off her debts was just a bonus.

-RB—

_Orochimaru's base offered little in the way of comfort, but it was large enough to house the several dozen shinobi who had escaped Konoha's destruction. The civilians had been forced to flee to nearby villages. Tobi seemed more interested in destroying the shinobi than worrying about the civilians for now._

_Sakura and Naruto arrived last, having buried Ino near the spot where she died. Sakura glanced at the shinobi who had survived, and wondered briefly if there was even hope of victory now. Tenten had only escaped due to Lee opening the eighth gate, like his teacher before him. He had single-handedly destroyed most of the army of Zetsu in the village, but had died shortly after._

_This had bought enough time for Tenten, Kurenai and her daughter, Temari, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Shino, Team Konohamaru, Genma, Yugao, Hanabi, and several other shinobi time to retreat. When Naruto walked in, Shikamaru and Chouji's heads went down. He was the last one to make it, they knew, and it meant that Ino wouldn't be with them._

" _Listen up! We need a volunteer for an eye transplant!" Sakura called out to them. Several people perked up at this, and Sakura held up a scroll. "Naruto killed Sasuke, and we have his eyes. With any luck, Sasuke's eyes will have a way to defeat Tobi. Only those of jounin strength are eligible candidates, and you will have to go through a painful medical process to infuse Uchiha DNA into your system so you can properly use them."_

_No one reacted for several moments, and Sakura was about to give up when Tenten stepped forward._

" _I'll do it. I was always the weak one on my team, but no more." Sakura understood that sentiment, and ushered Tenten into one of the side rooms to prep her for surgery._

 _-_ Omake—

Itachi liked to think he was known for his composure. The extreme violence and language used by Akatsuki didn't faze him. Murdering most of his clan had barely caused him pain. Even when with Hibena, he wasn't particularly emotional. But even he had limits.

He had already acknowledged that he thought Honour was attractive. Her dark hair, her lithe, athletic body, and the onyx eyes that reminded him of his brother's eyes; all of these traits put her in a very attractive light, and Itachi could honestly say that he had never been more physically attracted to a woman before.

So when Honour took to walking around the Akatsuki base in nothing but shinobi pants and her breast bindings, Itachi was understandably flustered. He wasn't the only one. Many of the male members of Akatsuki took to leering at her when her back was turned. He knew that modesty was a luxury in the shinobi world, but Honour took that saying to the extreme, it seemed. When they had been out on their own, on missions for Akatsuki, she had carelessly undressed in front of him more than once.

Itachi had held it in for a long time. He had even tried talking to her subtly about it a few times. Nothing worked, and a libido that he didn't know he had was suddenly about to explode as his composure was tested over and over. And due to his consistent use of the Sharingan to temper his slowly failing vision, he had memorized every detail he was witnessed over the last few weeks.

It came to a head one day while waiting for a mission. Itachi was in the kitchen, snacking on a rice cake absentmindedly while he read from a book with strange orange cover when Honour emerged from her room, dressed in her breast bindings and a pair of hot pants. Itachi's eyes snapped to her backside as she walked by, and he couldn't help but groan ever so slightly as he did.

"Something wrong, Itachi?" Honour asked without looking at him, moving toward the refrigerator and opening it lazily, searching it slowly while bent over, giving Itachi a very good (or bad, depending on which of Itachi's heads you were asking) angle to stare at.

"Actually, yes. Could I trouble you to put on more clothes?" Itachi said suddenly, surprised at his own boldness. Honour turned at the neck, glancing back at him, not changing her pose much. Itachi's libido strained against his composure.

"Does the way I dress bother you?" He almost heard the smirk in her voice. He had become fairly adept at picking up the extremely subtle indicators she gave with her emotions.

"Well, I am a man, and you are an admittedly attractive woman who dressed rather skimpily most of the time. So I would agree with the implication that I am bothered by your state of dress, yes." Honour turned toward him, standing up straight, an eyebrow raised. Suddenly, it was like Itachi was staring at a completely different woman. Honour walked toward him, swaying her hips in a hypnotic fashion. Itachi's Sharingan spun traitorously, eager to memorize every moment as the woman stopped next to the Uchiha, running a hand slowly up his arm.

"And what are you going to do to make me change it?" She asked in a purr, and Itachi's libido came dangerously close to overwhelming him. He had been trained to resist seduction techniques, but even he was struggling with her sudden forwardness. Her hand trailed slowly from his wrist, all the way up his arm, before it jumped to his face, caressing it almost lovingly.

"Uh…" Itachi's brain shut down as the sensory input overloaded him. Honour leaned in, her face extremely close to Itachi.

"Something wrong?" She whispered, her hot breath brushing off his cheek. Her lips just barely brushed against his, and then she withdrew. He couldn't help but stare at her in an almost hurt confusion. Had he been looking forward to a kiss that much? Honour simply laughed lightly. Itachi had never heard her laugh before, but he decided he would enjoy hearing it as often as he could. "I'll change, Itachi. Never thought I would see the legendary Itachi's composure break down like that." Honour suddenly sauntered off, and Itachi was stuck sitting on the couch, the rice cake long forgotten on the floor.

What the hell was that about?

-END—

Omakes will be canon but not related to the current line of the story.

Any guesses on the technique Sakura is developing?

Guesses on match winners for the finals?

There will be at least two chapters between this one and the beginning of the finals. One will deal with Team Seven training, the other will deal with other plot lines.

R&R please!

Next time

" _You're good, girl. You figured out my strength technique, and you probably are better in taijutsu than I am. However, I haven't decided to return to Konoha, so you are wasting your breath. Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Tsunade slammed her hand onto the ground, and Sakura was forced to release the barrier around them in order to make room for Katsuyu. She wanted the contract; it wouldn't do to injure the summon._

" _Now the real battle begins, Haruno Sakura!" Tsunade yelled._

" _Right you are." A voice sounded from the side of the two fighters, and the both looked over to see a pair of figures in black cloaks with red clouds._


	14. Tsunade and Akatsuki

 

I don't Naruto.

-RB-

Karak town was a small farming village, with one inn recently built and barely any people. Sakura stood out like a sore thumb amongst the farmers and craftsman, but she paid it no mind. She only wondered why Tsunade would be here of all places. Laying low from debt collectors was one thing, but this was basically off the radar.

Sakura figured that her old teacher could only be in the inn. She was excited to see her again. Shizune as well, since they had basically become sisters while Sakura had undergone her intense training. Although she wasn't excited at what she had to do to them. Sure enough, Tsunade was sitting in the lounge of the inn, getting drunk off of sake with Shizune watching over her with a worried expression. Sakura made a quick decision on how she was going to approach the Sannin. She walked up to the table, and tossed the letter in front of Tsunade.

"Senju Tsunade, right? Hokage-sama requires you back in the village," Sakura said with little tact. Naruto had inspired the woman to go back, but Sakura knew she had no such gift with words. If Tsunade refused to come back, Sakura was authorized to bring her back by any means necessary. Tsunade put down her sake cup and shot a glare at her.

"Who are you, gaki?" Sakura shrugged.

"Name's Haruno Sakura. The medic who will surpass you." Tsunade laughed at that, a mocking tone in her voice.

"Sure, kid. Let's see what the old monkey has to say," Tsunade said as she opened the letter. Sakura watched as the Sannin's face went from shock, to confusion, to shock again. She glanced at Sakura with a wary look on her face, before continuing the letter. Sakura wasn't sure what was in the letter, but she imagined that Sarutobi's death and Orochimaru's defeat were in there. Tsunade put the letter down, raising an eyebrow as she glanced over at Sakura.

"You were the leader of a team that defeated Orochimaru?" Sakura was grateful for the hitae-ate that she now wore over her forehead at all times. Tsunade would recognize the Strength of One Hundred seal in a second, and that would cause all kinds of mess.

"Sure. He wasn't that tough. Defeated Sasori of the Red Sands as well, by myself." Sakura wasn't normally one for bragging, but she knew she had to impress Tsunade with her skills to make her interested in returning, especially since she would be interested in having Sakura as a student once more.

"Sasori is the grandson of Chiyo of the Sand, right? I heard he is even better than his grandmother, which makes anyone who can defeat him kage level to be sure... if it's true. What does the pervert want with me?" Tsunade finished her sake but didn't order more, which Sakura viewed as a good thing. Shizune glanced between the two, more curious than anything.

"He wants you to return to the village to become head of the hospital. You will be tasked with training a new generation of medics to implement the program you wanted at one point. A medic on every team, to keep shinobi healthy and to minimize losses. He offers to pay your debts as well if you return, and you will not have to do field work if you don't want to." Sakura knew that the offer would tempt the woman, but it was up to her to make sure she took the bait.

"And if I choose to decline?" Tsunade asked, and Sakura shrugged.

"I will be forced to bring you in." Tsunade stared at her for a second to see if she was serious before laughing mockingly again.

"Brat, I was smearing shinobi against the ground in war before your parents were out of their diapers. What makes you think you have a chance against me?" Sakura shrugged. She wasn't foolish enough to think she could actually defeat Tsunade as it was if the Sannin decided to go all out, but only because she couldn't use her own seal. However, she did have a new secret weapon and she had a much larger variety of techniques to fall back on.

"I'm not completely certain I could defeat you, but I imagine I could definitely push you to your limits. Besides, you have a couple of glaring weaknesses as it is." Sakura casually picked at her nails, and Tsunade frowned.

"Which are?"

"Hemophobia means all I have to do is cut myself and you will freeze. And you have a partner who you have to protect, since she is part of that 'bring them in with any means necessary' clause that Hokage-sama gave me." Tsunade glanced at Shizune, and Sakura felt a level of sadness pass over her. She would never be as close to these women as she was in the original timeline, but if they lived, it would be worth it.

"You would stoop to targeting someone else to get to me?" Tsunade asked, and Sakura simply shrugged.

"We are shinobi. We don't fight fair." Tsunade stared at her for a few moments.

"Can you give me the night to think it over?" She asked, and Sakura nodded. She knew the woman would try to skip town in the cover of night.

"Sure. If you try to run out on me, though, I have been authorized to bring a team next time, and there will be no offer." Sakura knew that Tsunade wasn't fond of the village, but she didn't hate it so much that she would go to any lengths to avoid returning.

-RB-

The other task Sakura had come here to complete was at the behest of Honour. She hadn't planned on coming out this way until after the Chunin Exams, but luck had sent her this way early, so she could get it out of the way. She searched the village until she found the house described to her by Honour. If what she knew about Hibena turned out to be true, she would need more than just a spinal surgery.

A knock on the door rang out as Sakura waited for the door to open. She heard humming coming from the back of the house, which stopped when Sakura knocked. After a few moments, the door opened to reveal a near clone of Honour sitting in a wheelchair, looking at her with curiosity.

"Yes, can I help you?" She asked, and Sakura frowned. Who was this woman? Why were there two versions of her timeline's Higurashi Tenten in this timeline? Honour had some explaining to do when she saw her again.

"Hello, my name is Haruno Sakura. I am a medic, and I have been sent here to check up on you." Hibena gave her a strange look for a moment.

"Who sent you?" Sakura wondered just what had happened to Honour since she returned.

"A kunoichi who apologizes for the death of your father sent me." Hibena's eyebrows furrowed in anger, but she simply nodded and motioned Sakura to follow as she rolled away. Sakura entered the house and closed the door behind her. Hibena led her to a bedroom, where the woman shifted herself onto her bed.

"What are you here to do?" Hibena asked, and Sakura couldn't help but be wary of the fact that her eyes were the same color as Itachi's when they weren't active, which meant that she had the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan as well. She wondered just who Hibena was.

"I was asked to fix your back. According to the one who sent me here, despite what you think, that injury was not something you were born with. I've never fixed a spine that has been severed as long as yours has but I'm confident I can do it." Hibena stared at her for a few moments before shaking her head, muttering something about 'more secrets.'

"Very well, do what you must." Hibena turned over onto her stomach and undid her dress, scooting it down to her hips. Sakura took a moment to glare jealously at the woman's larger breasts, knowing she was cursed to be below average in that department forever. She then went to work, first analyzing the injury. It was the same spot that Tobi had stabbed Tenten in her timeline, which meant that this WAS Tenten. But how? She didn't have any memories, it seemed, for she didn't recognize Sakura.

"It seems you suffered a stab wound. This is years old, though, at least twenty." She would have to reopen the wound to heal it, and it would require a lot of chakra to reactivate the dead nerves in the lower part of her back and legs. Plus, she would have to go through physical therapy, which meant she would have to move to a city. The closest city WAS Konoha, and it would allow Sakura to keep an eye on the woman.

"I see. I don't have any memories before I was five. My sister told me that some sort of jutsu had erased my memories of my past life. According to her, we are both from the future, although I can't help but doubt that at times." So Honour was acting as Hibena's sister. Now the real question was, which one was Tenten? It was almost as if there were two of the Tenten she knew.

"So Honour is your sister?" Sakura asked as she took out her marker and marked the places where she would have to re-sever the nerves that had died or heal incorrectly.

"Well, sort of. According to her, the jutsu that sent us back in time and erased my memory actually cloned me. Or something. She went into a lot of something she called 'multiverse theory' and discussion of such with a guy named Uzumaki. Apparently, something went wrong with the jutsu and put two of the original woman who came back, AND de-aged us. Like I said, it isn't that believable." Sakura tried her best to not react to what Hibena was saying. She would have to ask Honor, because Hibena clearly didn't know.

"This is going to hurt. Do you want to be unconscious for it?" Sakura asked, and Hibena simply nodded her agreement. Sakura hit a nerve in her neck with chakra, knocking the woman out. She then proceeded to begin the operation.

-RB-

Hibena woke four hours later. Sakura was sitting in a chair next to her bed, sweating trailing down her face and arms. Clearly, the procedure had been stressful.

"Well, it was successful, to my knowledge. I need to run a few tests." Hibena nodded as Sakura pulled out a sewing needle. "Tell me if you feel this." She began to prick Hibena's toes, to which the woman responded with 'ow' each time. She used the needle to poke a few more areas, including her rear, as well as some more embarrassing tests for Hibena. Satisfied, Sakura stood and began packing her stuff.

"Thank you, but I don't think I will be able to walk anyway." Hibena gestured to her withered legs, and Sakura nodded.

"Yes, you will be required to move to Konoha so I can put you through physical therapy. Even medical jutsu can't create muscle tissue that never existed in the first place." Hibena's eyes widened, and Sakura smiled at her. "Any moving expenses have been covered, do not worry. I will put in a D-rank mission to move you to Konoha as soon as I return to the village. Until then, these are painkillers. If your legs ache too badly, take one. That should keep you pain free for eight hours after."

"Do I get a choice in moving to Konoha?" Hibena asked. Sakura shrugged.

"Do you want to walk? You have a chance most in your position don't get. Don't waste it on pettiness." Sakura marched out the door, leaving Hibena alone with her thoughts.

-RB-

Fortunately for Sakura, she had enough time to recover her chakra before Tsunade tried to escape that night. A tracking seal was on the letter Sakura had given her, and Tsunade had kept it in her pocket when she tried to run. When Tsunade made it outside of town, Sakura decided to spring her trap. A cage of purple fire, similar to the Four Violet Flames Formation that the Sound Four used in the original timeline, appeared around Tsunade, separating her from Shizune. The younger woman went to touch the wall, but was stopped when Sakura grabbed her wrist.

"I wouldn't do that, Shizune-san. That barrier is powerful enough that Kage level shinobi can't escape from it, and it engulfs anyone who touches it in flames." Shizune pulled her arm back and glared.

"You plan on forcing Tsunade-sama back? I won't let you!" She dropped Tonton and released a bunch of senbon from a launcher on her wrist. Sakura casually deflected these with her metal-plated gloves. Shizune went through a few hand seals and breathed out a poison gas at Sakura, but Sakura simply walked through it toward Shizune.

"I am not here to fight you, Shizune, but I did tell her what would happen if she tried to escape." Tsunade was yelled at them through the barrier, but Sakura couldn't hear her. Shizune moved forward to engage in taijutsu, and Sakura sighed rather loudly before pushing chakra into Shizune's arms as she moved around the woman's attacks, causing Shizune's arms to drop limply. Shizune stared at her as Sakura shook her head. "Your legs are next, if you keep going." Shizune wisely retreated, kneeling next to Tonton.

Sakura suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke, similar to a shadow clone. Tsunade turned to see Sakura standing there, waiting for her.

"So, gaki. You are going to fight me to bring me back?" Tsunade asked, and Sakura shrugged.

"I don't want to fight you. You must realize that running from me would make you a nukenin. Do you want to live that life? Not only would other villages be after your bounty, but organizations like Akatsuki would be after you as well. I know you are strong, but Akatsuki is all S class, and I guarantee you there are shinobi that could defeat you in there," Sakura explained. Tsunade seemed to stop for a moment before settling into a combat stance. Sakura sighed, but nodded.

"Hidden Mist Technique!" Sakura called, and a heavy mist covered the area. Tsunade tensed as her visibility shrank to almost nothing.

"Hiding away in the mist? Are you afraid?" Tsunade taunted, and Sakura laughed.

"What about 'we are shinobi, we don't play by the rules' do you not understand? I would have thought someone as experienced as you would have realized this by now." Tsunade barely dodged a barrage of kunai that came at her position. "In the end, it only matters who lives through the battle." Tsunade felt a hand on the storage seal scroll she carried everything in on her leg, and went to slap it. It was too late.

"Kai!" All of her possessions went flying into the area, tumbling along the ground. Tsunade didn't know what the girl hoped to accomplish here, but it seemed rather pointless. Suddenly, several clones rose up from the earth, and rushed her. Tsunade spent several minutes defeating. The girl was skilled in taijutsu, and the clones made her actually try a little bit.

"Enough of this. You said yourself that you weren't sure you could defeat me. Is death really worth bringing me back?" Tsunade called out.

"Well, I was hoping to impress you enough to make you teach me." Sakura's voice echoed over the arena. "I have perfect chakra control, and my chakra supply is almost as big as yours at this point, from what I've heard from Hokage-sama." Tsunade suddenly ducked under a fist, and the two exchanged a taijutsu combo that ended with neither side getting a hit in. Sakura jumped back and then jumped forward, causing Tsunade to jump back. When Sakura's foot impacted the earth, a massive crater erupted, causing Tsunade to stumble. She had to jump out of the way of the cracking earth as the crater widened to take up most of the arena.

"How do you know that technique?" Tsunade yelled.

"I heard about your strength, and then asked the Sandiame about it. It was easy to figure out after that." Sakura rushed forward once more, and Tsunade slammed the earth with her fist. Earth shrapnel shot out toward Sakura, who weaved through the projectiles and came face to face with Tsunade. "Teach me." Tsunade scoffed and attacked with a barrage of punches. Sakura flawlessly weaved through them. "I just want you to teach me medical ninjutsu." Sakura jumped back, and grinned when Tsunade looked annoyed.

"You're good, girl. You figured out my strength technique, and you probably are better in taijutsu than I am. However, I haven't decided to return to Konoha, so you are wasting your breath. Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Tsunade slammed her hand onto the ground, and Sakura was forced to release the barrier around them in order to make room for Katsuyu. She wanted the contract; it wouldn't do to injure the summon.

"Now the real battle begins, Haruno Sakura!" Tsunade yelled.

"Right you are." A voice sounded from the side of the two fighters, and the both looked over to see a pair of figures in black cloaks with red clouds.

-RB-

Naruto slammed his hand onto the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" He called for what seemed like the hundredth time. A puff of smoke appeared, and Gama the toad appeared. Naruto sighed slightly, patting the toad on the side. "Hello again, Gama. You can go." A puff of smoke allowed the toad to disappear, and Naruto frowned. He wanted to be able to summon Gamabunta without the fox's chakra, but it seemed that he didn't have enough chakra or chakra control to summon the toad boss.

"Keep trying, Naruto. Or do you want to switch and go back to working on the Rasengan?" Naruto shrugged at that. He had completed the second part of the Rasengan training, but the third part was kicking his butt. He had mastered the first part on the first day, thanks to him noticing Jiraiya's demonstration balloon morphing in a bunch of different ways. The second task had taken another day. Sakura had left on the third day, and it had been two days since, and he had yet to master the jutsu.

During the day he worked on the two jutsu, and in the evening, he worked on his secret project. He hoped to be finished with all three by the time the finals came around. Jiraiya explained to him that the real reason there was a month between the second and third exams was to allow foreign dignitaries time to come to Konoha to watch their country's genin fight. The Mizukage, Kazekage, and Raikage would all be present during the exams.

"I guess. At least with the Summoning, I feel like I'm making progress. Even with clones, I feel like training the Rasengan is going dreadfully slow." He could only make three clones when training the Rasengan, because of how much chakra the jutsu took if you failed it. His clones could only sustain half a dozen attempts before popping, but it certainly saved time.

"I took two months to learn the Rasengan after Minato showed it to me. Don't be discouraged. Minato himself took three years to create the jutsu, although creating a jutsu is much harder than just learning it," Jiraiya said as he peered through his binoculars at two pretty girls playing in the river near them. He giggled perversely and scribbled some notes into his notebook.

"Yeah, I guess. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Three clones appeared in front of Naruto, and they began to work on keeping the Rasengan in the balloon.

-RB-

_"Mikoto-sama!" Sakura rushed into the room. Kakashi and Sasuke were already there, and Mikoto smiled at Sakura tiredly as she held a small bundle in her arms. Sakura smiled as she approached the bed, Naruto shuffling into the room behind her. Mikoto offered the baby to Sakura, who took the bundle with reverence. This was a life that had never existed in her timeline._

_"Her name is Satoko." Mikoto said softly as Sakura stared at the baby girl. Satoko yawned and shifted slightly, her onyx eyes opening to peer at the newcomer with curiousity. A tuft of grey hair spilled out from under the blanket. She was perfect, Sakura decided. She looked over at Sasuke, who had a soft smile on his face. She had never seen that expression on his face before. Sakura walked over to Sasuke, leaning against the wall next to him._

_"She's beautiful, Mikoto-sama, Kakashi-sensei. Congratulations!" Sakura said, and Sasuke peered at his sister. She wondered if Itachi's reaction had been similar to Sasuke's, for he seemed delighted to have another sibling. Hopefully Sasuke would have the chance to be a better sibling to his sister than Itachi had been able to be._

_Naruto came over and peered at Satoko with his classic fox-eyes._

_"Oi, she looks just like you, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said. Sakura handed the baby to him, and he seized up, looking at the little girl with apprehension. She was sure he had never held a baby before._

_"You have to hold her head, Naruto," Sakura explained, and Naruto's hand shifted to support her head. She glanced over at Kakashi, who was gazing at the scene with a combination of sadness and joy. If things had gone differently, the Yondiame and Kushina would have been here to greet his first child. Obito and Rin would have been here. Sakura knew that seeing Naruto, who looked so much like Minato, holding his child brought mixed emotions to her long time teacher._

_"Hi, Satoko-chan! I'm Naruto! I'm gonna be your unofficial big brother. I'll be ten times the brother Sasuke will be, dattebayo!" Satoko just gazed up at the blond. Kakashi came over and took the child from Naruto, gazing at his daughter with fondness._

_"I promise you, Uchiha Satoko, that you will have a better life than your parents and siblings," Kakashi whispered to the child, and Sakura was forced to wipe away a tear. She was glad Kakashi got the happiness he so deserved._

-RB-

"Again, Sasuke," Kakashi called. Sasuke heaved in breath after breath, going through the hand seals slowly. He willed lightning chakra to his hand, and aimed it at Kakashi.

"Raiton: Raijū Tsuiga!" Two hounds made of lightning shot out of Sasuke's hand at Kakashi, who absorbed them with his own lightning chakra. Sasuke collapsed to the ground, his chakra nearly exhausted.

"Well done. Let's take a break and then we can work more on fire jutsu." Kakashi tossed Sasuke a bottle of water, who broke it open and gulped half of it down greedily. Kakashi knelt next to his step-son, smiling at the boy. "You know, you're probably stronger than I was when I was your age, and I was a jounin. I had just created the Chidori, but it was unuseable due to my lack of ability to perceive things at the speed required for the jutsu." Sasuke looked up at Kakashi as the man took a reminiscient look on his face. "It was thanks to a clan member of yours that I got my Sharingan. He died saving me, and his last gift to me was his intact Sharingan, since I had lost my eye earlier in the mission."

"Wasn't his name Obito? I remember that my father was still incensed that you were allowed to have a Sharingan without being subject to clan laws, but Sandiame-sama shut him down on that pretty quick." Sasuke sat up as he finished his water. Kakashi glanced down at Sasuke and nodded.

"Yondiame-sama knew that the Uchiha had the clout to push for something. They also had the Hyuuga behind them, because if someone managed to get a Byakugan, then whatever law applied to me would apply to them as well." Kakashi sipped his water through his masked. "To avoid any political strife, I enlisted in ANBU, and spent the next two decades doing high class missions. ANBU are immune to clan politics."

"Have you ever considered becoming Hokage? You are probably the next strongest shinobi after Hokage-sama, although I'm not sure about Tsunade and Sakura." Kakashi frowned at that.

"No. As much as I'm sure certain people from my past would like it if I were Hokage, I would prefer to live life simply and as freely as a jounin can." Kakashi glanced down at Sasuke. "Ready to get back to it?" Sasuke nodded, and they began again.

-RB-

Sakura tumbled to the side, groaning at the damage she had taken thus far. The only worse pair that could have showed up was Pain and Konan. She was forced to jump away once more as the triple scythe came toward. She glanced over to see Tsunade fighting against Kakazu, seeming to be on the run as well. Sakura growled at this turn of events. Hidan was probably the worse person she could fight, simply because he had no trouble taking hits from her. The only way to defeat Hidan was to dismember him and keep him from somehow getting back together.

Sakura didn't have an jutsu like that. Earth and water didn't make for good dismemberment techniques. The only thing she could think of is explosive tags, but she only had so many of those, and she didn't want to waste them if it wouldn't get the job done. Hidan was a pain in the ass, but he had never been particularly skilled compared to his peers. She was sure he was recruited simply so he could be a meatshield for Kakazu. His taijutsu wasn't bad, and he had gotten a few good hits on Sakura, but she had avoided his scythe thus far.

"Stop running, you cunt!" Hidan yelled as he rushed forward, slashing repeatedly at her with his scythe. She did have to give him credit. That thing must have been heavy, but he swung it around like it was nothing. She retreated once more, cursing as his scythe nicked her arm, drawing a little bit of blood. She wanted to use the Strength of One Hundred seal, but with Tsunade present, she didn't dare.

"Fuck off!" She yelled as she went through seals. Her skin hardened into stone, which would ward off any glancing blows. She wondered what the Zombie duo was doing here. Itachi had let Jiraiya know that he and Honour would be the next to come after one of the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Hidan cackled and ingested her blood, preparing to commit to the ritual.

_**You have to use my chakra here.**_ Kurama said in her mind. She knew it was her only option here. She had trained to use his chakra, and could take the base form of his chakra without losing control now, mostly due to some rough seal work that her Naruto would have shaken his head at, but it still hurt like hell to use, and it left her weak for a few days afterwards. She generally considered it a last resort, only to be used if she was going to die. She unleashed a flurry of blows on Hidan, getting inside of his scythe range to drive him backwards. She heard bone crunch and joints crack as he was sent flying away, but knew he would come after her soon enough.

"Ow! That hurt, you shitty bitch!" Hidan yelled as he tumbled to a halt, standing somewhat slowly as his wounds healed. Sakura braced herself and opened the gate that held Kurama's chakra back, only a crack. Her skin began to burn slightly as her wounds healed. Her canine's elongated and her nails grew longer. Her eyes turned a blood red and the iris changed into a slit. She darted forward at Hidan, who threw his scythe at her. She jumped off to the side, flipping several times, before shooting forward once more. She arrived at Hidan before he could pull his scythe back, and pulled her fist back.

" **Stand up from this! SHANNARO!** " Her fist connected with Hidan's head so hard that it popped off his shoulders, going tumbling into the tree away from them.

"Fuck, you fucking cunt! That really hurt, you stupid bitch!" Hidan's body collapsed, and Sakura turned to Kakazu, who had retreated fairly far back from Tsunade. Tsunade's Strength of One Hundred seal was active, and she looked like she was going on the offense.

"Hidan, you useless idiot! You lost to a genin!" Kakazu appeared next to Hidan's body.

"Shut up, you useless fuck! She's a god-damned jinchuuriki! You lost to a washed up old hag!" Hidan's head yelled as Kakazu picked it up.

"We have to retreat for now. We finished the mission anyway. Have a parting gift! Katon: Zukokku!" One of Kakazu's mask shot fire out out at Tsunade, who jumped out of the way. Sakura heard a pained scream. Kakazu took the head and body, and disappeared. Sakura sighed and released the Kyuubi's chakra.

"SHIZUNE!" Sakura spun to see Tsunade crouched over Shizune. Sakura ran over to her, crouching to get a damage assessment. Half of Shizune's body was covered in 3rd degree burns, and she was barely breathing. Tsunade was frozen at the glistening mixture of puss and blood oozing out of the cracks in the burns, and Sakura smacked her across the face. Tsunade stumbled backwards, and stared up at Sakura.

"If we don't do something now, Shizune will die! Do you want your lover's neice's death on your conscience because you froze at the sight of blood? Hurry up!" Tsunade nodded, and they proceeded to get to work.

Burns were the worst type of injury to heal. They healed the slowest naturally and never left the person the same. Sakura had treated a lot of burn victims during the war and the pursuit afterward (one didn't fight Uchiha and not come away with burns), so she knew that this would be a long, drawn out process. There was no hospital nearby, so they could only make due with field medicine. Sakura let Tsunade take over the procedure, seeing as Sakura wasn't supposed to be as experienced.

"You have water?" Tsunade grunted, and Sakura pulled out a canteen of purified water from a sealing scroll. They doused the wounds in the water and began to clean off the dead skin and tissue. Sakura began using an IV jutsu to supply Shizune with electrolytes and then injected Shizune with antibiotics.

Tsunade, meanwhile, began to used regeneration to regrow parts of Shizune's skin. Due to Sakura's IV jutsu, which also function as an anasthetic, Shizune felt very little of this process, although she still groaned a little bit. Skin regeneration was some of the most chakra intensive, and Tsunade began to breathe in ragged breaths after several minutes. Shizune was still only about halfway through the procedure.

"Let me take over. Keep the IV up," Sakura told her, and Tsunade nodded, popping a soldier pill and starting her own IV. Sakura let her chakra flow into Shizune. She didn't have as much as Tsunade did at this point, but fortunately for her, the hardest part was over. She continued to regenerate the woman's skin, and noticed as some parts finished, that they were red and splotchy. Not as bad as healing the normal way, but she would never be called a beauty again. Sakura felt awful. It was her fault that Akatsuki had come here.

Finally, Shizune opened an eye, smiling slightly at Tsunade.

"Tsunade-sama..." She whispered, and Tsunade wiped away the tears as she smiled back at her apprentice and long-time companion.

"You're going to be alright, Shizune. Thanks to Sakura here." Tsunade turned to Sakura, putting a hand on her shoulder as Sakura sat back, trembling from lack of chakra. "I will take you as my apprentice. You saved Shizune's life. Let's go back to Konoha."

-END-

I was going to add more but I figured this was a good enough stopping point.

There will be at least one more chapter before the finals, maybe two.

Read and Review please.

Next Time

_"Your time travel jutsu wasn't a time travel jutsu then." Sakura nodded, amazed at her family's strength and history._

" _It seemed that we jumped timelines rather than go back in time. And that's not even the weirdest part." Jiraiya leaned in, interested. "I think I may have a bloodline."_


	15. The Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 15, time for more training and some backroom politics and planning. WOO!

FFXV is pretty awesome, although I get my ass kicked a lot. I feel like the developers decided that, instead of making you fight a single enemy that is difficult, you get to fight swarms of enemies that make it so you can't even attack. Seems fair.

Onward!

I don't own anything but the idea behind this story

-RB-

Itachi frowned at the letter as he read it. Haruno had been attacked by Kakazu and Hidan, Jiraiya wrote, and they had nearly killed Tsunade's apprentice. The duo had been driven off, but Haruno reported that they had said 'got what they came for anyway.' Had Pein sent them to test the pink-haired jinchuuriki? Pein had told Itachi that it would be him and Honour who would be the ones to test her and the Uzumaki. Had Pein lost trust in Itachi?

Itachi and Honour had already discussed the inevitability that they would be discovered as spies. They were confident that they would return to Konoha after they were ousted from Akatsuki, but they were hoping to make it to phase three of Pein's plan before that happened. To be thrown out now would ruin years of planning.

Phase one of Pein's plan was evaluate and track the jinchuuriki, to see which teams would be best suited to take down each, as well as gather funds to keep Amegakure up as their façade. Phase two consisted of acquiring the Jinchuuriki in order of their tail number, starting with one and ending with nine. Phase three was a hypothetical, although Itachi was certain it would come to it. If the villages banded together to protect their Jinchuuriki, Akatsuki would unleash full-scale war using Zetsu and the Gedo-Maze. Pein originally enlisted Orochimaru for hopes that the man would use the Edo Tensei to make an undead army, but they were still confident they would win.

"Honour," Itachi called. The woman in question turned toward him, the black flames behind her dying out instantly. They were in the outskirts of Tanzaku Town, training and waiting for orders or the Jinchuuriki to leave Konoha. "Hokage-sama sent a letter. Haruno left the village to retrieve Tsunade, and was attacked by Kakazu and Hidan." Honour's brow furrowed but otherwise she didn't react. "Tsunade and Haruno managed to drive them back, but as they left, Kakazu said 'we got what we came for.'" Honour closed her eyes for a moment before opening them, the eerie black and red of the Eternal Mangekyou staring at him.

"So Pein lied to us?" She said simply, and Itachi nodded.

"So it seems. And we cannot call him on this, because we should not know about it. When we test the pair, we must be honest in our report. We must also actually put forth effort when fighting them." Honour turned away, black fire erupting from the same spot she had been practicing.

"To what degree?" Itachi watched in a small amount of awe. He wished that he could use Amaterasu as often as she could, but he had to conserve his eyesight, where she did not.

"No Mangekyou. No limits otherwise. My little brother and Hatake Kakashi will, no doubt, be with them. We might even be pushed to our own limits, if the rumors about Team Seven are true." Honour nodded, the bones of the Susanoo's skeleton forming around her. Itachi wondered if she could beat Pein with the Eternal Mangekyou. Her normal abilities surpassed his own, simply because her movements were so fluid that even a Sharingan had trouble tracking them.

"When are we testing them?" Itachi glanced up at the moon as it came out from behind some clouds, lighting up the area.

"After the Chunin Exams, when they next leave the village. I want to be close to the village until then. Orochimaru is planning something, and although Haruno killed him, he won't stay dead."

-RB-

Sakura grinned as Katsuya stood before her. Sakura had just summoned her, and now she wanted to make the next step in her training. Tsunade stood there, gaping at the fact that Sakura had summoned her on the first try.

"Katsuya-sama, I have a request," Sakura yelled up at the slug. Katsuya leaned down, looking at Sakura with what seemed like curiosity. It was hard to tell with a slug.

"What is it, young Sakura-san?" Sakura grinned.

"I want to learn slug senjutsu!" Tsunade whipped around from looking at Katsuya to staring at Sakura.

"Are you sure? Tsunade herself could not perfect senjutsu. It is exceedingly difficult and dangerous. The only person to perfect slug senjutsu was Senju Hashirama," Katsuya told her. Sakura clenched her fist in determination.

"I don't have a choice. I have to be the strongest to defend my village from anything!" Katsuya nodded, and leaned in close to Sakura, one of her feelers nearly touching the pink-haired time traveler.

"Very well, I will take you to Shikkotsu forest, where you will spend the next three weeks learning senjutsu. I hope you are ready." Sakura nodded, and the feeler touched her, and then they both disappeared with a puff of smoke. Tsunade stared at the spot where they disappeared, and then she disappeared in a puff of smoke a moment later.

-RB-

"Mom, I'm home!" Sasuke called as he hung up his sword and other gear. Mikoto peaked out from the kitchen, and he could hear his sister giggling from the entryway.

"Welcome home, son! How was training with Kakashi-kun?" Sasuke walked into the kitchen to smell the tomato-basil soup his mother was making. It was one of his favorites.

"It went well. Sensei says he can't teach me anything more with lightning chakra." Sasuke leaned down and cooed at Satoko, smiling when she smiled at him. He picked her up out of her rocker.

"Well, that's good. Kakashi-kun is the one of the strongest in the village, so you must be getting up there in strength. Who knows, maybe you'll be the next Hokage?" Mikoto teased him. Sasuke scowled at that. He didn't want to be Hokage. His mother had made a point of explaining some of the circumstances behind the death of his clan. Whether Itachi was a criminal or not, they had somewhat deserved what they got. With Danzo dead, Itachi and his mysterious benefactor were the only ones who had responsibility in the massacre.

"I'll pass. Let the dobe have it." Mikoto smiled. Sasuke knew she loved Naruto like another son. She had explained that she had been best friends with his mother, Uzumaki Kushina. Sasuke had learned that she had been the previous jinchuuriki for the Kyuubi, and that was were Naruto's whisker marks had come from. According to Mikoto, Naruto had most of his mother's personality with the best parts of his father thrown in, as well as the Yondiame's looks.

"Well, perhaps you can restart the Uchiha Police force someday. Or maybe you'll be ANBU commander? You can be whatever you want to be. And someday, you can teach Satoko to be strong as well," Mikoto stirred the soup while gazing out of the window. Her expression was one of regret and sadness, and Sasuke knew she was thinking about Itachi. Even if he was a bad guy, he was still her son and she still loved him. Sasuke still loved his brother as well, but he also hated him.

Some nights, he had dreams of a terrible world where Itachi had killed his mother that night. He grew up alone and controlled by his desire for revenge. He eventually left the village to pursue the power he needed to kill his brother. He always woke when his brother collapsed in front of him, dead, while rain fell around the ruins of the Uchiha hideout they had battled in. He could always see the black fire smoldering in the forest around the hideout, the fading of the chakra construct that had protected his brother from the Kirin, as his last poke to the forehead left smear of blood.

"I promise I will always be there to take care of Satoko." Sasuke stared at his sister. He loved her as much as he ever loved Itachi, maybe more. This was a precious person he needed to protect, no matter what.

He would die to save her.

-RB-

"I think you finally got it, Naruto." Jiraiya grinned at his apprentice as he split his popsicle and handed the blonde one half. Naruto took it gratefully, utterly exhausted but pleased with himself. He had finally mastered the Rasengan. It had taken him three weeks, but he had actually finished it with one hand.

He had come up with a shortcut earlier in the week. Using a clone allowed him to stabilize it easier, since the clone could work on keeping the chakra stable while he made it spin. Jiraiya hadn't been satisfied with that, and forced him to learn how to do it with one hand. It had taken three days with clones to learn how to do that, but he had eventually mastered the one-handed use.

He had also managed to summon Gamaken earlier in the week. While not quite the level of Gamabunta, Gamaken was certainly big enough to handle anything Naruto would face in the near future. Jiraiya had told him that, as soon as he learned to summon Fukasaku or Shima, the Two Great Toad sages, he could learn senjutsu, which would massively increase his abilities. Naruto knew that such a thing would not happen anytime soon. According to the old pervert, both took about twice as much chakra as Gamabunta the first time, simply as a method to prove a summoner is worthy. It was also a way to tell the toads that the summoner had enough chakra to use senjutsu.

Naruto's secret project was finally coming to some fruition. He had spoken to a few shinobi around the village about it, who had pointed him to Genma,, Raido, and Iwashi. They had helped him as much as they could, and Naruto finally got to the point where he could use on his own.

Since Sakura had shown him fuinjutsu, he had taken to it like a fish to water. He had never thought about it before, but according to Jiraiya, most Uzumaki were exceptionally talented in sealing. Naruto was no exception. During his free time, he studied all the fuinjutsu that Jiraiya had shown him. He had mastered the basics in a remarkable amount of time. Jiraiya had been amazed, for the blonde had mastered everything up to intermediate level faster than even his father.

Past intermediate level was mostly self-created seals. There were a few high level seals, like the Evil Sealing technique, the Five Elements seals, and the Reaper Death seal that could be learned, but anything else was self-created. Naruto had already free-formed a few seals. None of them were particularly useful or complex. One was a seal that exploded paint outwards when touched, another was a seal that worked as a summoning for a single person, and the last was seal that worked as a chakra battery. Naruto thought that one would be most useful for people like Sakura, whose chakra levels weren't particularly good.

Now that he had completed the Rasengan and the Summoning, he only had one jutsu to learn before inheriting his father's legacy.

-RB-

Orochimaru looked down at the corpse of one of the shinobi he had applied the cursed seal to. He had only had twelve shinobi survive the curse seal, and now only eleven remained. The Sound Five and Anko made half that list. A couple of others were hidden so he could always revive when circumstances like this happened.

The problem with his resurrection technique is that he only saved his memories according to the last time he transmitted chakra into the seals. He didn't know what had killed him, only that something had. The last time he had transmitted, he was about to join the chunin exams under the guise of a kunoichi from Kusagakure, and ambush Sasuke. Apparently something had gone wrong in that time frame.

Kabuto was also missing. Orochimaru didn't want to assume Kabuto was dead, since his assistant was almost as hard to kill as himself, but Kabuto had never gone this long without being in contact with him, even before Orochimaru had discovered the sleeper agent technique Sasori had put on the boy years earlier. His team of genin had also gone missing, although they were certainly of less use than Kabuto. They didn't have any idea of his plans for Konoha.

It took him a day to get used to his new body again. He wasn't used to be old again. He would need to take control of a new body very soon. Once he had proper control of his body, he went to his main base. He gathered the Sound Five, ready to make a move on the Kazekage, in order to assassinate Jiraiya and destroy Konoha once and for all.

Of course, this was all a secondary objective to gaining Sasuke as his next body.

-RB-

Sakura was in Konoha for the last few days before the exam, to rest and do a little extra research and light training before she changed the shinobi world forever. Sakura's training in senjutsu had caused her to notice something that definitely hadn't been around the first timeline. When she had been taking in nature chakra, it had come in so ridiculously easy that she had barely tried and had taken in too much.

Katsuya-sama had told her that she had not seen someone take in nature chakra so easily since the Shodiame. According to the slug, Sakura had actually been taking in small amounts of nature chakra this whole time, which had explained why it had been much easier for Sakura to get to her level than it had been originally, and while she had had no trouble using some of the jutsu she had, despite her age and lower chakra limit.

Sakura had also noticed that plants reacted to her chakra if she used it on them, and she could only wonder what that meant. It had peaked her curiosity and she had been forced to go to the library to research her family history. Just from talking to her parents, she had known that this timeline had started different before she had arrived. Her father had been a strong jounin and a candidate for the Yondiame Hokage. He had retired when she had been born, to prevent her from having to grow up without a father, and had only fought once since then, against the Kyuubi.

Her mother had also been a jounin, and she had actually had some chakra tutoring before she arrived, which was why her body could harness chakra so easily when she arrived, something she had initially overlooked at first. When she looked back on it, her body, when she first showed up, was much stronger than her original timeline. Even with her mind knowing the movements and mechanics of her taijutsu style, she should have never been able to defeat Hinata, who had already had years of taijutsu training.

Upon doing research, she came to the realization that she was actually related to the Senju clan in this timeline. Her father's mother was a Senju, cousin to the Sandiame, while HER mother had been an Uzumaki. Upon this realization, she had been forced to talk to Kurama, who had noticed that her body accepted his chakra at a better rate than he originally thought, and had wondered about that as well.

Because of this, the Haruno clan was actually a strong and integral part of Konoha, and had been one of the founding clans, with the Uchiha, the Senju, the Nara, the Yamanaka, the Akimichi, and the Hyuuga. She had never really questioned what her parents did before, because she had just assumed they were the same as before, but she could see the small differences now that she knew what to look for. Her father was more serious and much more authoritative. Her mother was much more outgoing and had strong political connections, being the Yamanaka head's cousin. Sakura had cousins, aunts and uncles she had never known existed. She really needed to spend more time at home, because she was embarrassed it had taken this long to notice these things.

Sakura was actually a prominent clan heir, like most of their class. In fact, the only one of their class who made it to genin that wasn't a prominent clan heir was Naruto, simply because the Uzumaki clan had never established themselves in Konoha, since the only known surviving member before him had been his mother, who had never been interesting in that sort of thing.

Sakura knew, of course, that Naruto was not the only living Uzumaki. She knew of at least three more, maybe four. Karin and Nagato were the two most prominent, and she was certain that Tayuya of the Sound Four was one as well. There was rumored to be another in the remnants of Uzushio. Mei was a descendant of Uzumaki, although not one herself, similar to Sakura.

Now that Sakura thought about it, if her chakra could affect plants, and she was descended from the Senju, was it possible that she possessed Mokuton? Water and Earth were her elements, which made up Mokuton when combined. She had never tried combining them, and she had always had a way with plants in this timeline, as she had shown during the kunoichi classes is the academy. Ino had once commented that she must have had a green thumb, because the flowers she had used during the flower arrangements had also sprung to life and looked much more vibrant than her classmates.

It made her wonder just how much was already different in this timeline before she arrived. She headed up to the Hokage's office to have a meeting with him to discuss her findings.

"Sakura, how can I help you?" Jiraiya asked when she walked in, hastily stowing a notebook away. She tapped his desk, and he activated the privacy seals in the office.

"I have not been as attentive to some things as I should have been," Sakura began. Jiraiya gave her a puzzled look, and she continued. "My father is descended from Senju and Uzumaki." Jiraiya nodded, for he had already known that.

"Yes, although I assumed that you wouldn't be able to use the Kyuubi's chakra as efficiently as Naruto because your blood is more diluted." Sakura gave him a piercing look.

"In my timeline, my father was not related to any shinobi clan. He retired as a genin and lived as a shopkeeper for my entire life. My mother was a chunin when she had me, and retired afterwards. I was nothing special, basically a civilian kid." Jiraiya's mouth dropped open. Sakura had been as strong as she was as a civilian kid? It was pretty amazing. He had chalked her skill up to genetics until now.

"I see. The Haruno clan has produced some very high quality shinobi. Hell, Kizashi was stronger than Minato if Minato didn't use Hiraishin. Your grandfather and grandmother had been teammates of Kakashi's father, and they are known as 'The Sannin before the title.' Your time travel jutsu wasn't a time travel jutsu then." Sakura nodded, amazed at her family's strength and history.

"It seemed that we jumped timelines rather than go back in time. And that's not even the weirdest part." Jiraiya leaned in, interested. "I think I may have a bloodline." His right eyebrow raised in curiosity. She fidgeted slightly. "I think it is Mokuton," The toad sage shot backwards in his chair, his mouth a gaping hole after that bomb.

"Can you show me?" Jiraiya asked, and Sakura shook her head.

"It's only a theory right now. My chakra can affect plants and my body naturally absorbs some nature chakra. I've never used a bloodline before, so I don't know how it feels, but my affinity for earth and water are much stronger in this timeline." Sakura grinned. "Maybe we'll get lucky."

-RB-

It was the day of the Chunin exam finals. Typical of Kakashi, neither he nor Sasuke had showed up yet. Fortunately for him, he wasn't the first match of the day this time, so there would be no rearranging of the match order.

The finalists all stood in a line, waving at the crowd. Sakura kept an eye on Gaara, who had been suspiciously quiet during the whole month. Sakura knew that he didn't train much, so she wondered what he had been up to during the break. Last time he had murdered the last of the Oto trio during the month, and caused some havoc revolving around Lee.

With a glance at Naruto, she could tell he had gotten stronger. The slight cockiness he had before had strengthened into an almost full-blown arrogance. Perhaps knowing who his father was had not helped him, but Sakura couldn't change that now. She could only try to mold what she had. She was sure that Jiraiya had taught him the summoning technique, like he had last timeline, although she also knew that this Naruto was smarter and had much better chakra control, so Rasengan wasn't out of the question either. The jutsu was powerful, surely, and would help him if Orochimaru showed up during this side of the exams as well.

Speaking of; Sakura took a glance up at the Hokage's viewing booth. Unlike last time, which had only had the Sandiame and Orochimaru in disguise, there were a couple of extra people.

Mei Terumi, the Godiame Mizukage, was sitting to Jiraiya's left, with her body-guard and adviser, Ao. She had won the civil war a bit sooner than she had in the previous timeline with the help of Zabuza and Haku, which allowed Kirigakure to participate in this exam set. Wanting to appear strong, she had sent her most promising 'genin.' Haku was easily high-chunin, low jounin level, and Chojuro was already one of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist, so she was clearly abusing the 'rogue nin have no ranks' rules, which had applied to all of the Mist rebels.

To Jiraiya's right was the Kazekage, although it was likely Orochimaru in disguise. He had no bodyguards, and Sakura thought it was foolish that the man had killed the only person capable of controlling Gaara, especially since not even Orochimaru could match a biju. She could only hope that the presence of two more Kage would allow Jiraiya to best the man, even with the Edo Tensei. Sakura had prepared a small surprise for that instance, but it wouldn't make a huge difference.

To the Kazekage's right was A, the Yondiame Raikage. He had taken over for his father when the Sandiame had perished against the Hachibi before Sakura's birth, and had been the instigator behind the Hyuuga affair nine years ago. Jiraiya had offered him a place in the exams to promote peace between the two villages, but Sakura knew that the toad sage didn't trust him as far as he could throw the large man. Next to the Raikage were his brother, Bee, and his head adviser, Darui.

Darui had been the Godiame Raikage for the short period after the death of the previous Kage, alongside Temari, Chojuro, Naruto and Kurotsuchi. She hadn't heard from any of the other villages after Konoha fell, so she assumed that the other villages had been destroyed completely. She was determined to prevent the deaths of many of the jinchuuriki this time around.

While Sasuke had managed to defeat Haku on the bridge, she wasn't sure Naruto could do so as easily. If Haku had gotten any stronger, it would be very tough for Naruto to win. The boy had already been much stronger than his original counterpart on the bridge, and months had passed since then. Her eyes scanned the crowd and found Zabuza watching passively from the crowd, his giant sword blocking the view of the two rows of seats behind him, not that the man cared.

She could also see Tsunade in the stands, watching her with a knowing smirk. Sakura knew that none of the competitors in this tournament would pose a threat to her, unless they pulled out some sort of ridiculous jutsu. Even Sasuke's Kirin couldn't compete with Slug Senjutsu.

"The first match of the Final Exam will be Yuuki Haku vs Uzumaki Naruto! Will the non-combatants please make your way to the waiting area to your right!" Hayate called, looking much healthier than he had a month ago. The other genin funneled to the waiting area, leaving Naruto and Haku to face each other down.

"Well, Naruto-kun, it seems we will battle at last. I have gotten much stronger, so do not think you will defeat me like Sasuke did." Haku said, pulling a senbon needle out and sinking into a combat stance. Naruto grinned and activate his hidden blades.

"I'm stronger than Sasuke, so don't think you have a chance!" Hayate looked between the two combatants and raised his arm.

"Match, begin!"

-END-

My muse is slowing down because I HATE writing the boring ass matches of the chunin exams. I can't wait to be done with this arc so I can really break away from canon.

Next Time

_"How did you get out of that?" Sakura asked. She had her suspicions, but she wanted the blonde to confirm them._

_"That would be telling, Sakura-chan! Besides, what if we have to fight later? I would have revealed my greatest secret to you!" Naruto said with a shit-eating grin on his face. Sakura begrudgingly nodded her agreement, although her curiosity demanded that she know. If he had mastered the Hiraishin, things just got much easier for them._


	16. Finals part 1

Sorry for the late update. These finals chapters are kicking my ass.

Chapter 16! Chunin exam finals part 1!

If I'm gonna be honest, I wish I didn't have to do these matches. God they are boring to write.

Why do we have to put disclaimers?

 

-RB-

Haku shot forward, unleashing a barrage of senbon at Naruto. The blonde simply hopped to the side and met Haku's charge with his own, the two clashing in the middle. Naruto's blades cut through Haku's senbon, and the effeminate boy had to lean back to avoid a fatal result. He brought his knee up, using Naruto's momentum against him to strike the leg of the jinchuuriki and cause him to fall.

Naruto used momentum to roll to his feet, responding with a few shuriken thrown at the ice wielder. Haku deflected the projectiles with his senbon, weaving through a few hand seals with his other hand.

"Suiton: Bakusui Shoha!" Haku called, and shot a mass of water at the blonde. Naruto jumped to avoid the blast of water, and suddenly the arena was covered in a small amount of water. Naruto went through his own handseals.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Blade!" He shot a huge disk of sharpened air at Haku, which moved at incredible speeds. Haku barely managed to jumped to avoid the technique, only for Naruto to appear underneath him. His eyes went wide when Naruto stabbed a blade into each of his kidneys, only for him to explode into water. Naruto cursed and was forced to use his own replacement to avoid the retaliation of senbon.

"Haku has gotten better," Sakura commented. Chojuro glanced over at her, a curious look on his face.

"You know Haku, Haruno-san?" Sakura glanced at the boy, nodding.

"We were the Konoha team that defeated Zabuza and Haku in Nami no Kuni." Chojuro's eyes went wide, staring at her in shock.

"You defeated Zabuza-sensei? I had heard rumors of your team's strength, but to think you could defeat Zabuza-sensei and Haku..." Sakura knew that Kakashi had claimed credit for Zabuza in the mission report, but she didn't know what Zabuza had reported to Mei about it, if anything at all. It seemed as though he hadn't made a report.

"Haku was defeated by Sasuke on the bridge, but he wasn't this skilled. Of course, Naruto has gotten much stronger as well, so we'll see who comes out the victor." She silently wondered if the Rasengan could break Haku's ice mirrors, the boy's ultimate technique.

"You're better than before," Naruto said as he jumped away from another barrage of senbon. Haku was doing a splendid job of keeping the blonde away from him.

"Thank you. You also seem more skilled, Naruto-kun." Haku weaved through some hand seals and the water around the arena froze solid. Haku again went through hand seals while Naruto took a moment to regain his footing. "Hyoton: Tsubame Fubuki!" A cluster of ice needles shot from the ice at the jinchuuriki, shaped like swallows. Naruto jumped to the side to avoid the needles, but was surprised when they suddenly changed direction and barraged the boys body, causing Naruto to cry out in pain. Blood leaked from the wounds, but Sakura knew that such wounds could not hold Naruto down for long.

As soon as the thought finished, red chakra erupted from Naruto, along with steam as the wounds healed at a rapid rate. He shot forward at a much higher speed, appearing next to Haku and kicking the boy in the stomach. Haku went flying, tumbling along the ground. Naruto sped up to keep up with him, punching Haku in the chest as he appeared at the other side of Haku's flight path, slamming him into the ground. Haku coughed blood but was forced to roll as Naruto unleashed another punch. Naruto was forced to retreat as a barrage of ice needles appeared in the air and shot at him.

"I see that I will need to use my strongest jutsu to defeat you." Haku went through some hand seals. "Makyo Hyosho!" Twenty one mirrors of ice formed around Naruto, and Haku jumped into one. Naruto glanced around at the many reflections of Haku around him, and frowned. All at once, dozens of senbon came at the blonde from all directions. Naruto cursed and went through a few handseals.

"Hari Jizo!" His hair grew out rapidly, surrounding him and protecting him from the needles. Sakura could see Haku frown at the jutsu, and Sakura had to admit she had never seen this one before. Haku unleashed a few more volleys of senbon, realizing that they were doing nothing.

"Ice Release: Demon of the Snow," Haku muttered, and he shot forward at Naruto, a massive lance of ice surrounding his hand and forearm. He drove it forward into the hair barrier, and Sakura was surprised to see the technique pierce the defenses of Naruto. She heard Naruto screamed in pain as the lance pierced his shoulder. Haku drove the lance further, pinning Naruto to the ground with a fist sized hole in his right shoulder. Haku's chakra spiked as Sakura felt him release the first Chakra Gate, and he went through a dozen handseals.

"Ice Release: Blizzard of the Heavens!" Hundreds of ice spears appeared in the air, and they all shot toward Naruto with a flick of Haku's wrist. Sakura was actually worried for Naruto for once. The spears impacted the area where Naruto was, creating a massive cloud of snow and dust. The crowd was on the edge of their seats, waiting to see if the blond had managed to escape what seemed like certain death.

A huge shockwave of red chakra shot forth from Naruto, knocking both Haku and Hayate away. When the dust cleared, the spears had all been blocked by his chakra tail as another tail waved lazily behind him. To show this much power this early in the tournament meant that he had been pushed to his limit.

" **I've had enough of this!** " Naruto yelled, and shot forward at Haku, kneeing the boy in the gut. Haku coughed blood as he shot away toward the wall of the arena. A claw of chakra caught him before he could reach the wall, pulling him back. Naruto slammed the ice-wielder onto the ground, and began to slam the boy over and over again with his chakra fists. There was a heavy aura of bloodthirst and malevolence in the air as he hit Haku over and over until, finally, Hayate was forced to intervene.

"Stop! Stop!" He pushed Naruto away, crying out as the caustic chakra burned his hands. Naruto roared, the chakra deepening his voice to a sub-human growl. "Haku is unable to continue! The winner is Uzumaki Naruto!" The chakra cloak shut off instantly from around Naruto, and he stared up at the silent crowd, who stare at the both with a mixture of awe and revulsion. Sakura knew that this would not help his case to appear as more than the Kyuubi to the public, and she would agree that what he did was excessive.

Naruto waited for Chojuro to make his appearance, looking barely worse for wear despite his fight forcing him to go full power. The medics came out and took Haku away as Chojuro came down, glaring at the boy with an intensity she had never seen from him before.

"I will avenge Haku." Naruto snorted at this.

"You act like I killed him. He'll live." Chojuro took the blade off his back and nodded to Hayate.

"Are both fighters ready? Begin!"

-RB-

Jiraiya had approved of Naruto's excellent use of the Hari Jizo, but the boy didn't seem to have much compassion for his enemies. Like Minato, he guessed. The Yondiame had killed over a hundred Iwagakure shinobi over the course of the war, and he had never looked back when doing so. Kushina had always been a bit more compassionate in battle, allowing enemies to escape when they had been beaten so long as they seemed like good people. Naruto seemed to orient toward his father, although he was a bit sadistic at times.

"So that is the Kyuubi jinchuuriki? He seems fairly strong, although not in control of his beast," Mei said off-handedly. Ai looked over at the buxom redhead, nodding his agreement.

"His individual skills are impressive for his age, but I agree that he lacks control. Our jinchuuriki would never savage an enemy for no reason." It was left unsaid that they would savage an enemy to spread fear, which meant they would savage every enemy.

"Now now, the boy is better off than many Jinchuuriki." The 'Kazekage' said, his gaze locked on the arena. Jiraiya's eyes narrowed as he glanced at the man. He smelled of snakes, and Jiraiya knew that Orochimaru had killed the Kazekage and taken his place.

"I will ensure he gets the proper training for control. However, you can't deny that he knows how to send a message," Jiraiya stated, and the others nodded in agreement. While Chojuro looked determined to beat Naruto, many of the other genin were shivering in fear.

-RB-

Chojuro charged at Naruto, swinging the sword, which turned into a massive hammer in mid flight. Naruto jumped to the side, creating a dozen clones as he did so. He used one as a spring board, launching at the swordsman at high speeds. Chojuro brought his blade around as shield, blocking the hidden blade strike, and pushing Naruto away.

Chojuro unleashed a scroll that began pumping out water. The rate was steady but not excessive in liters per minute. Naruto frowned at this but backed up, allowing two dozen clones to pop into existence. Chojuro went through some hand seals as the clones charged.

"Hidden Mist Technique!" A deep mist covered the arena, and Naruto sighed in annoyance. What was it with these Kiri shinobi and their hidden mist technique? It was damn annoying. He went through his own handseals, and grinned as he pumped chakra into the jutsu, overpowering it.

"Fūton: Daitoppa!" A massive gust of wind fanned out over the arena, blowing the mist out of the arena and causing Chojuro to go flying into the wall. Naruto grinned, huffing only slightly at the large amount of chakra he had expended. The water, which had been blown into droplets acrossed the arena, had soaked into the dirt and caused most of the arena to become a muddy, sticky mess.

Chojuro sprinted across the mud, turning his sword into a hammer as he brought it around at Naruto. The blonde backflipped and sent a barrage of kunai to cover his escape. Chojuro deflected the kunai with his sword and ran toward the place Naruto would land. He brought around a giant mace, one that covered so much area that Naruto couldn't avoid it, and cried out in pain as the mace made impact, causing him to tumble away. He impacted the wall with a crunch, and fell to a knee.

"Don't worry, you'll live." Chojuro's mocking tone caused Naruto's brow to furrow, and the red chakra poured out of Naruto, forming a red cloak around him. Sakura could see him grimace, something that happened when he used the chakra too much. It would begin to overpower his healing and burn him slightly. She knew he would need a break before he used it again after this match.

The mouths of almost every person watching the fight fell open when Naruto created over a hundred clones in one shot. He and his clones shot forward, and Chojuro cursed, turning his sword into a hammer that was about 50 ft wide at the head. He swung it mightly, and dozens upon dozens of pops signified that many of the clones had been destroyed. Not enough, however, as a mob of clones swarmed over Chojuro, before backing away, a log left in the middle of them.

Sakura could see Chojuro hiding in a tree nearby, heaving in breathes. He looked like he was about out of chakra, and she knew that Haku was better suited to fight people like Naruto than he was at the moment.

"Chojuro seems to be having a lot more trouble fighting Naruto than Haku was," Ino commented. Sakura nodded her agreement.

"Yeah, speed is the key to dealing with mass clones. Naruto had seen Haku in action before, and knew he was fast, so he knew not to use the mass clone tactic. He knew this from his spars with Sasuke, who could consistently ward off dozens of clones with no problems." Sakura shook her head. "Chojuro's greatest talent is his swordsmanship, which is great at single opponents but not so good against masses of enemies, even with his sword's properties. Chojuro can't use the larger weapon transformations because it takes a lot of chakra, something Naruto has in spades. Naruto can just out-stamina him to victory."

Down in the arena, Naruto and his clones were looking around, although a few of them looked bored.

"Come on, Chojuro. What happened to avenging Haku?" Naruto taunted, his voice amplified as his clones spoke at the same time, giving an eerie echo effect. "Have you given up already?"

Chojuro roared and shot out, his sword above his head in a striking motion. He hung above the arena for a moment before his sword transformed. When the smoke cleared, a massive mace almost the size of the arena itself was in its place. Naruto stared up with wide eyes, and could only throw a kunai at Chojuro. The Kiri genin moved his head, and the kunai soared far into the sky. The mace came down, and the rest of Naruto's clones died horribly. Chojuro landed on his knees, his sword shrinking to base form. He huffed, almost retching from exhaustion. He was clearly spent. When the dust cleared, he expected to see Naruto's body. Hayate, who had fled into a tunnel, peeked his head out, looking for the blonde.

Sakura was worried for a few moments, for Naruto didn't have a way to avoid that, as far as she knew. Suddenly, Naruto fell from the sky, and landed an axe kick into the top of Chojuro's head. The Kiri genin collapsed unconscious, and Naruto fell on his butt, huffing in what seemed more like adrenaline than exhaustion. Hayate glanced around for a second before nodding.

"Match winner, Uzumaki Naruto!" The crowd went wild. A turn around victory when defeat seemed certain was always a favorite, even if Naruto had dominated most of the match. Naruto made his way up to the waiting lounge, and Sakura raised a brow at him.

"How did you get out of that?" Sakura asked. She had her suspicions, but she wanted the blonde to confirm them.

"That would be telling, Sakura-chan! Besides, what if we have to fight later? I would have revealed my greatest secret to you!" Naruto said with a shit-eating grin on his face. Sakura begrudgingly nodded her agreement, although her curousity demanded that she know. If he had mastered the Hiraishin, things just got much easier for them.

"The next match will be Karui of Kumo vs Uchiha Sasuke!" Sakura looked around, worried. Sasuke still hadn't shown up, but if this was anything like the last time he did this, he would show up at the last moment in some cool fashion. Karui made her way down to the arena, and the crowd began to murmur amongst themselves about the missing Sasuke. Hayate waited for several minutes before he looked up to the Hokage's box. Jiraiya sighed and went to motion for him to call the match when a massive explosion of smoke erupted from the center of the arena.

When it finally cleared, Sasuke and Kakashi stood back to back. Kakashi stood with his hands in his pockets, looking as cool as he always did. Sasuke stood in a new outfit, his right hand resting on the hilt of his sword. His shirt was black, with a high collar. His pants were similar to ANBU pants, black that cut off at mid-shin. His sandals were black and a black cloth belt was used to fasten his sword to the small of his back. His hair was longer than it had been, and he looked a little like Itachi, missing only the lines around his nose.

"Uchiha Sasuke, present," Sasuke said, and Naruto scoffed next to her.

"Blah blah, my name's Sasuke, I think I'm so cool because Kakashi-sensei set up a last minute entrance with a new outfit!" Sakura chuckled at Naruto's annoyance, although mostly agreed with it. It was really unnecessary.

"Good luck, Sasuke," Kakashi said as he shunshined into the stands, next to Gai. Sasuke nodded, and Hayate held his hand into the air.

"Both fighters ready? Begin!" Karui shot forward, her katana flashing out and clashing with Sasuke's own blade. She smirked.

"I was hoping to fight your blonde teammate, since he beat on Omoi pretty hard, but after seeing his matches today, I know I would not have stood any chance." Sasuke scoffed at this, but he hadn't seen the matches. He pushed her away and threw a barrage of kunai at her with his free hand. Karui deflected the kunai with her sword, channeling lightning chakra through her blade.

Sasuke mirrored her, electricity crackling down his blade. He dashed forward, clashing with her over and over again.

-RB-

_"Again!" The purple-haired ANBU captain yelled at him as he picked himself off the ground. Sasuke groaned as he came to his feet, holding his sword in reverse grip as he used it as a prop to hold himself up. He had been going at it all day, earlier with Kakashi's weird green spandex wearing friend, who had given him some pointers in taijutsu and speed. His next tutor was a ANBU captain with purple hair with the alias 'Neko.' While his mother's Kenjutsu was better than average, she hadn't focused on the blade in her career, preferring to let her Sharingan genjutsu aid her more often during the war._

_Neko was amazing with the blade. She was also a slave-driver. Sasuke had never been so tired in his life as he was these days, not even during Sakura's training sessions back in the Academy. Sasuke flipped the sword in his hand, and charged once more. Neko deflected his sword strike, stepping out of the way of his follow up kick. Sasuke used the blade as a leverage point on the ground, spinning around and aming another kick at Neko's chest. Neko brought her free hand up to block the kick. Sasuke grinned as he took a trick out of Naruto's book._

_A clone popped up behind Neko. Sasuke had learned shadow clones from Kakashi, who had deemed him able to create two or three without exhausting him. Neko shoved Sasuke away, spun, and stabbed the clone through the stomach, only for the clone to explode into lightning chakra. Neko gasped in pain, collapsing to her knees. She looked up to see Sasuke's katana at her neck._

_"I think I win this one, Neko." She smirked under mask, and Sasuke suddenly felt something grab his ankle, and he yelled as he was dragged underground. When his vision cleared, he was buried up to his head. Neko looked down at him, and Sasuke could almost see her smug smile._

_"Always keep track of your surroundings, and never accept victory until you check for a pulse and find none."_

-RB-

Sasuke grinned as they locked blades.

"What are you smiling about? I'm clearly the better kenjutsu user," Karui said. Sasuke shrugged.

"Technically, yes. You have even improved since the prelims. However," Sasuke shot backwards, sticking to the wall of the arena. He concentrated for a second, and chakra began to pour out from his body. "You can't beat me in speed. Gate of Opening, release! Gate of Healing, release!" Sasuke shot forward at speeds the average person couldn't even see. Karui shot backwards as a kick impacted her chest.

"Ugh. This speed," Karui coughed, and cried out as Sasuke kicked her in the back. Another hit from the front. Blows poured over her, and before Karui knew it, she was face down in the dirt, her sword halfway across the arena. She began to get to her feet when Sasuke's blade rested against her neck.

"Give up." Karui slumped to the ground, nodding.

"The match is over! The winner is Uchiha Sasuke!" As soon as the words left Hayate's mouth, Sasuke collapsed, groaning. Karui stared at him.

"You were bluffing!" Karui exclaimed. Sasuke shot a smirk at her, although is was more like a grimace.

"Yeah, but it worked. Now I just have to..." He reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a pill, popping it into his mouth. Ino would be a tough fight, and then he would have Sakura after that. He couldn't afford to hold back any medical supplies Sakura had given him. He stood slowly, and helped Karui to her feet. "Bad luck for you. I've been training under a jounin-level shinobi since I was six." Karui realized, at that moment, that Sasuke had never activated his Sharingan. She limped off the field, utterly defeat.

"The next match will be Yamanaka Ino vs Uchiha Sasuke!"

-RB-

Sorry for the short chapter, like I said, these finals are kicking my ass, because only Gaara (and this world's Hinata) would be a challenge for team 7.

R&R please.

Next time

_Sakura coughed blood, coming to her feet. Gaara was the perfect counter to her style, and she knew she would have to use her new technique to defeat him._

_"Haruno Sakura! MY MOTHER CALLS FOR YOUR BLOOD!"_


	17. Finals pt. 2

Chapter 17! Next chapter begins the big diverge from canon! I'm so excited. I hate following canon scripts for long.

Time for y'all to see Ino fight full on for the first time in this fic. I actually had a hard time deciding who should win the match, due to Sasuke's earlier gate usage.

So Sakura canonically has earth and water affinities, so in an alternate universe, the only bloodline that would make sense on her without changing her parentage would be Mokuton. I made Mebuki related to the Yamanaka team because her hair is a very similar color to the Yamanakas we have seen. And Kizashi has a color close to red, so being related to Uzumakis isn't too much of a stretch, and the Uzumaki are related to the Senju.

Also, this would make Sakura the Senju clan head if Tsunade dies.

I figured out why I've been having a tough time writing these exam finals chapters. It's really boring, and I've been allowing myself to get distracted with other things. Also, LCS has started up, so that's been my day for the last couple of days.

Catlinp1997: I loled at the kneecaps. Thanks for the good comment!

Hanib2003: I loled in the middle of a meeting when I read your comment and got in trouble XD

AlefiaSolar: Thanks very much!

Disclaimer and stuff.

-RB-

Ino was nervous as she headed down to the arena, but Sakura had told her that she just had to give it her all. Ino walked out into the arena, watching Sasuke carefully as she walked to the opposite position of him. His chest was still heaving slightly and he looked a little shaky. If Ino had to guess, she would guess that Sasuke had never really used gates before. According to Tenten, the gates had been the technique Gai had forbidden Lee from using on Sasuke.

"Are both fighters ready?" Hayate asked, glancing at both of them. Ino nodded, setting into a basic taijutsu stance, and Sasuke huffed one last time before gripping his katana in an offensive stance. "Fight, begin!"

Sasuke shot forward, trying to end the fight quickly. Ino faded from view immediately, and Sasuke's Sharingan snapped on. Seeing the threads of chakra that made up the genjutsu Ino had cast on him before the battle had started, he shattered it with a pulse of chakra. The world turned purple, and began shifting through colors rapidly. Sasuke's reflexes kicked, and he barely dodged a kunai, which nicked his cheek. The world turned to normal again, Ino standing ten feet back from where he had attacked.

"You're pretty good with genjutsu, Ino. Let's see if you can overpower the Sharingan," he snapped through several one-handed seals and heaved in a breath. "Katon - Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" A massive blue fireball shot from Sasuke's mouth at Ino, the heat causing the crowd to lean back from the fire. Ino knew that the fireball was normally red or orange, but if fire was hot enough, it would turn blue, or even white. She went through several hand seals, mustered the water that had been released earlier.

"Suiton: Suijinheki!" The water rose in a wall around her, and the fire splashed into the water, causing a massive hiss of steam to burst forth. Ino cried out as it blasted her in the shoulders and arms, which she used to protect her face. She leaped back, and went through more hand seals. Sasuke came through the steam at her, sword crackling with electricity. Ino morphed into Itachi in front of his eyes, and his eyes widened in shock. Itachi kicked him in the stomach, knocking him away.

"Foolish little brother. You still do not have enough hatred. Run more, cling to life. When you have the eyes I have, come find me," Itachi said quietly to him, and Sasuke's eyes snapped open in rage as he stood on his feet.

"Fuck you, Itachi! Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu!" A massive fireball shaped like a dragon's head shot at the man, who swiftly used the replacement technique to save himself. The fireball flew into the sky, causing clouds to begin to gather.

From Sakura's point of view, it looked like Ino was just messing with him with genjutsu, and nothing had really changed until Sasuke had yelled about Itachi. When he used the Great Dragon Fire technique, her eyes widened. He was going straight for Kirin, and that would kill Ino. It appeared as though Ino had used her clan's mind reading techniques along with genjutsu to bring out Sasuke's worst enemy to play mind games on him.

It began raining, and Ino looked into the sky. She was regretting bringing Sasuke's brother into this fight now, even if it was just a genjutsu. Sasuke's eyes had a crazed look to them as lightning began to flash overhead, and he held his hand up, lightning chakra covering it.

"This jutsu will be the death of you, Itachi! NOW DIE WITH THE LIGHTNING STRIKE!" He screamed as a great dragon made of lightning appeared overhead. His hand shot down, and Ino's eyes widened as the dragon came down. This technique would definitely kill her if it hit, all because she had wanted to win too much and resorted to using his past against him. Suddenly, Sakura appeared in front of her, her hands weaving through seals swiftly.

"Earth Release: Great Aegis of the Rikudo Sennin!" A massive slab of earth erupted from the side of the arena, swiftly covering the entire arena like a roof. An explosion of noise as the Kirin hit the shield echoed throughout the arena, and the roof collapsed over them, causing several people to jump out of the way of debri. Ino's genjutsu had long faded, and when Sasuke saw who was there, his face paled. Was Itachi such a trigger for him that he would just instantly try to use his strongest technique to kill him? He had hoped he was over this. He had even decided not to go after Itachi unless he was nearby and it didn't interfere with the mission.

And Kirin would have killed everyone in the stadium. It had left a massive crater in the forest. Apparently, he needed more help than he thought. He walked toward Ino slowly.

"I'm really sorry, Ino. I snapped when I saw him and..." Sasuke trailed off, and Ino just smirked at him.

"I know. You think I didn't plan all this? I saw your technique in the forest, and knew I couldn't beat you in one on one combat. So I broke the rules." Sakura turned toward Ino, really annoyed at the plan but impressed with Ino's forethought. "I was hoping Sakura would come down and punch you before the technique went off, but at least I got to show off a little before the end of the match."

"Yamanaka Ino is disqualified due to outside interference. Winner, Uchiha Sasuke!" Hayate called out, and Sasuke sighed as he headed back into the building. At least he got a break now, although Kirin didn't take much chakra, the fire jutsu had taken a lot. "The next match is Hyuuga Hinata vs Hyuuga Neji!"

When both Hyuuga clan members arrived in the arena, the stadium had gone deathly quiet. Not much was known about either, but it had been whispered across the village that Hinata was the new clan head of the Hyuuga clan. While Sakura knew that she had simply caught Hiashi by surprise in their fight because he had underestimated her, she was sure that Hinata was probably at least as strong as Naruto or Sasuke.

"I told you before, Neji. If you do not come at me with everything you have here, I will kill you. Prove that you are the prodigy they all say you are," Hinata's eyes were frosty cold, enhanced by the lavender-white byakugan eyes. Her new outfit made the whole set up even more intimidating, with dark purples and blacks making up most of her outfit.

"I will, Hinata-sama," Neji stared back at her, but with none of the confidence or arrogance he possessed in the last timeline at this stage of his life. Hayate looked between the two, raised his hand, and then shot it down.

"Match, begin!" Neji shot forward, his Byakugan snapping on. Hinata's own Byakugan activated as well, and she set into a defensive stance. In a scene eerily similar to their battle in the previous timeline, Neji relentlessly attacked, and Hinata consistantly dodged, and Sakura could see the waves of chakra shooting off of Neji's hands. Finally, Hinata moved inside his guard, unleashing a palmed strike to Neji's chest. Sakura saw her grimace, and she suddenly shot backwards.

"You covered your body in an armor of stone," Hinata said, shaking her hand out, trying to rid herself of the pain. Neji simply smirked and weaved through some hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Arm Extension," Neji stated, as the remaining water from the previous battles formed around his arms, giving him what appeared like tentacles stemming from his shoulders. Hinata's eyes narrowed at this development, and her hands suddenly sparked with electricity.

Neji ran forward aggressively, and when he was about fifteen feet away from Hinata, his tentacles shot forward, in a fashion similar to Juken. Hinata's hands shot out at struck the tentacles, dispersing them temporarily, before they reformed at kept attacking almost instantly. Hinata was forced on the defensive, backpedaling as the tentacles continued their assault. Sakura looked closely, and she saw a grin on Hinata's face. The girl was having fun.

Neji continued his relentless assault, and Hinata suddenly disappeared from view. Neji turned just in time to block at heavy kick toward his chest, only to cry out in pain as he flew backwards, tumbling to a halt, grimacing in pain. Sakura saw Hinata smirked cruelly at this.

"You know earth is weak to lightning, right?" Hinata moved against Neji aggressively, and Neji was forced to go on the defensive. The problem for Neji in this situation was that he could not even parry her attacks, due to the lightning chakra. He had to dodge everything. Fortunately, his water tentacles could block a blow here and there, so he had a little leeway.

Hinata's barrage of blows slowly got faster and faster until Neji was forced to reveal one of his trump cards to avoid taking a potentially lethal blow.

"Kaiten!" Hinata was sent flying, and landed on her feet a dozen feet away. She raised a brow, somewhat impressed that he had learned a Main House technique simply from observation, and trial and error. He really was a genius. However, Hinata could not let him win this fight, simply because he had impressed her.

"Interesting, Neji. That you learned Kaiten on your own is rather impressive. I supposed you have learned Hakke Rokujūyon Shō as well. It seems I can't take it easy on you. Besides," Hinata's chakra spiked higher than Sakura had ever sensed from her, "you are within my divination. Raiton: Hakke Hyaku Nijūhachi Shō!" She shot forward at Neji, whose eyes went wide as she arrived next to him.

"Two!" Neji grunted as two lightning covered fingers hit his chakra points. "Four! Eight! Sixteen!" Blood trickled from the wounds created by the lightning chakra. "Thirty-two! Sixty-four!" Neji spat blood. "One Hundred and Twenty Eight Palms!" Neji was sent flying across the arena, tumbling a few times before landing on his stomach half-way across the arena. Hinata huffed slightly. Neji struggled to stand, very slowly picking himself up.

"I... can't give up here. Hanabi-sama... told me that... if I impressed you... you would consider freeing the... Branch house." HInata stared impassively at him, although Neji thought she looked a little sad. "I... can't lose..." He mustered as much effort as he could. She had gone easy on him with that attack. If she had wanted to, she could used the lightning chakra to permanently burn out his chakra points, causing him to never be able to use it again. He would take advantage of that, of the remnants of the kind-hearted girl who had once been HInata. "This is gonna hurt..." He groaned.

"Kaimon, open! Kyūmon, open!" His chakra points were forcibly reopened, and he yelled in pain as the chakra shot through his body suddenly. It was something he had tested out with Lee, after sensei had taught Neji the gates at his own request. The gates could override the closure of chakra points, although painfully. Neji adjusted to the pain for a moment. Due to the chakra forcing his chakra points again, he was left with a smaller window to use the gates' power. He only had thirty seconds.

Hinata simply stared at him, and he shot forward at blinding speed, kicking HInata in the chest with enough force to slam her into the arena wall. Hinata spat blood as she hit the wall, and grinned as she came to her feet.

"That's more like it, Neji. Show me what you can do!" Neji shot forward, kicking her upwards in a fashion similar to Lee. He jumped behind her, and began to spin.

"Hakke! Kaiten Renge!" The chakra shot forth from his body, barrage Hinata as he drove her down into the earth, continuing to spin until he ran out of chakra. Once he did, he leapt away, and collapsed to a knee, heaving in exhaustion. After a few moments, the dust cleared, and a massive crater was revealed. Neji couldn't see within the crater, but he knew no one could take that and still be standing.

Or at least he thought, for it was to his great surprise that Hinata's form rose, greatly batter and most of her clothes torn. Her jacket had been torn completely away and the undershirt barely kept her modesty intact. Her pants looked more like shorts now. She had blood trickling down her face and from her mouth.

"Impressive. If I had not used my own Kaiten to counteract the force when I hit the ground, I would have died." Neji sighed, the gates having worn off. He could no longer move, and Hinata was walking slowly toward. He rose his hand into the air.

"Proctor, I surrender. I am out of chakra." Hayate nodded, and called the match.

"Winner, Hyuuga Hinata!" Hinata blinked, and then collapsed. Medics came out and carried both Hyuuga to the medical room. Sakura was seriously impressed by both fighters. She would have had a tough time against that last technique. She would have made it through it due to her regeneration technique, but it would have probably put her out of commission for few minutes. She could also tell that Hinata had gone easy on Neji. She had let him open the gates, had let him hit her with those attacks at the end. It was hard to judge just how strong she was now due to those factors but Hinata would give Naruto a run for his money. Fortunately, Tsunade was the medic in charge of healing the participants, so Hinata would recover in time for her match with Naruto.

"The next match is Haruno Sakura vs Sabaku no Gaara!" Sakura breathed a heavy sigh, trying to pump herself up for the match. This was probably the worse match-up for her, and if she hadn't gotten that extra couple of techniques during the month break, she wouldn't say she could win with 100% positivity.

She performed a simple body flicker to get into the arena, with Gaara following her lead. The boy stared at her impassively, although she knew that his expression might be different under that sand armor.

"Haruno Sakura, there is something strange about you, and I will kill you to prove my existance." Sakura simply raised a brow and set into a defensive stance.

"Haruno Sakura vs Sabaku no Gaara, match begin!" Gaara's sand surged forward toward her, and Sakura quickly backpedalled to avoid the attack. Gaara's defensive style didn't play well with her own offensive style, and she had little doubt that her getting in close would result in nothing but pain for her.

Sakura retreated to half-way up the wall, surveying the battelfield. She had never truly battled Gaara and had only witnessed his techniques. She knew that this was one opponent that foreknowledge wouldn't help with much. She went through a dozen hand seals.

"Suiton: Bakusui Shōha!" She began to spit water from her mouth. Due to the chakra battery seal that Naruto had developed, she could pump out twice her total amount of chakra. She used all the chakra in the seal to power the jutsu, causing a massive wave of water to shoot out toward Gaara. The jinchuuriki's shield came up, and completely surrounded his body, not unlike his fight against Sasuke in the last timeline.

The water created a five foot pond on the bottom of the arena. Gaara climbed out of the water and stood on top, looking fairly annoyed at the situation. Sakura grinned. Now he wouldn't be able to use any other sand than the stuff in his gourd. Now, for the second part of her plan.

Gaara shot sand shuriken out at her, but Sakura simply moved to the left, and began throwing dozens of kunai at him. Gaara's shield came into effect, blocking all the kunai with ease, only to see the exploding tags attached to the handle.

"Katsu!" Sakura said, and a large explosion cover the area around Gaara. She went through more hand seals, and a dozen water clones popped up around him. When the smoke from the explosions cleared, Gaara's defense was ragged, but intact, some his Sand Armor falling from his face. In a single sweep, his sand shot out at speeds Sakura would have never expected, and popped all the water clones.

"I saw your battle in the forest, Haruno Sakura! I have trained for this fight, and I will kill you!" There was a rumbling sound, and Sakura looked up to see a massive amount of sand falling into the arena. She quickly shielded herself with an earth jutsu, and the sand collapsed into the water, absorbing it and leaving a muddy mess, although there were spots of dry sand that he could now use against her. She cursed. She hadn't expected this.

She decided she would have to engaged him in Taijutsu. She had gotten a lot faster than she had been in the previous timeline, so perhaps she could make some headway. Use a single hand seal, she released the gravity seals she had on her legs, and shot forward in a blur of motion. Gaara grinned evily as her punch struck his shield, knocking a huge amount of sand away. His sand surged forward, but she had already moved away, now attack the rear of his shield. She hit him four times before his sand was able to catch up.

A small piece of sand grabbed her foot, spinning her in a circle and throwing her into the arena wall, and then a big clump of sand impact her chest as she landed. She barely managed pull off a replacement as the sand went to surround her, and landed in a heap in the mud near the trees.

Sakura coughed blood, coming to her feet. Gaara was the perfect counter to her style, and she knew she would have to use her new technique to defeat him.

"Haruno Sakura! MY MOTHER CALLS FOR YOUR BLOOD!" Gaara screamed, his face twisted into a psychopathic grin. Sakura used an earth jutsu to sink deep into the earth, and spent a minute in meditation, preparing her new ability. When she finally finished, she rose back up, and the stark difference in her appearence was immediately obvious.

Two heavy black lines ran parallel across her forehead, intersected by a black line above each of her eyes. Two slant lines that ended in points ran from next to her ear to her cheeks, as well as two lines that ran from her neck to her cheeks. Her eyes were a different shade of green, and four crystal-like protrusions appear in a square formation in the center of her her forehead, around the crystal of chakra that she would use for the Strength of One Hundred seal.

She dashed forward, even faster than before, and slammed her fist into Gaara's sand. This was one of her new techniques, to overcome the resistances that the body had to kinetic motion. A single blow's impact was wasted on these resistances, and so Sakura first struck with the knuckles on the bottom of her fingers. The sand was completely blown away, the blow powered by sage mode. Now that she had an opening, she immediately folded her hand, switching to the second set of knuckles as the blow powered through, hitting Gaara in the chest. The boy immediately shot out of the sand's protection like a rocket, and his gourd dispersed to give him a cushion to land on when he hit the wall.

Gaara gripped his chest in pain, his sand armor cracked and falling completely away from his chest. He coughed slightly, seeing blood come out, and his eyes went wide.

"This is... my blood? MY BLOOD?" A psychotic scream erupted from him, and the sand around him fused to his body, twisting until half of his body was covered in the sand. Sakura knew she had to end before he fully transformed.

-RB-

Jiraiya's eyes had went wide when Sakura had revealed sage mode. She had got it down even better than he had, and she was decimating Suna's jinchuuriki. And it looked like the boy was trying to go full biju-mode, which would certainly cause a lot of panic in his village. He glanced over at Orochimaru in disguise.

"Your son is trying to destroy my village. If he gets any farther along, I will have to stop him," Jiraiya warned the man, and Orochimaru nodded.

"You have my permission to stop him if he gets further along." Jiraiya's eyes narrowed, and he figured that Orochimaru wanted the exams to complete so Team 7 would be vastly weakened. The man had probably figured out that they had something to do with his 'death.' "Your team 7 is very strong. That is Tsunade's sage mode, and your Jinchuuriki has mastered two tails at such a young age. The Uchiha's lightning jutsu are also very impressive."

"Well, most of our genin are strong, but Team 7 is a team of prodigies. I would probably say they would be worthy of a second 'Sannin' title by them time they get to Jounin," Jiraiya said, and almost missed Orochimaru's twitch of annoyance.

"Indeed. I looked forward to seeing what these three can do. That Naruto kid is pretty cute as well," Mei said with a light chuckle, licking her lips. Jiraiya knew that she was joking about making any sort of move on the kid but that didn't stop Ao from twitching slightly.

"I think that the Hyuuga kids are very skilled as well. That this many of your genin are this strong makes me realize that I need to revamp my academy's curriculum." Jiraiya glanced over at the Raikage, silently pondering the man's agenda. Mei felt indebted to Konoha for the resources and back-line support Jiraiya had sent, so there was little doubt that a peace treaty or an alliance would follow. Ai was another matter, for he was known for his envy of other village's bloodlines. If Orochimaru had managed to talk to him before the finals started, he might join in on the invasion, which could be disastrous.

Fortunately, all reports had indicated that only Suna and Oto forces had been spotted, but Kumo's forces were generally a higher quality than most other village forces. They could be hiding better.

-RB-

"No you don't!" Sakura yelled as she shot forward. This form was actually much more manageable. No sand shield yielded a much easier target for her to hit. She came to the side of Gaara that had no sand on it, and struck out again. Gaara managed to shift enough so she only his shoulder, but it was still devastating with the new technique, named Futae no Kiwami(Double Layer Limit). The first blow was mostly absorbed by his muscles and joints, but the second blow caused a loud crack to sound out. Gaara screamed out as his arm shattered, and he was sent flying once more, impacting the wall hard enough to cause a crater to appear under him. She appeared in front of him again, and punched his sand arm, completely destroying, before following up with another Futae into his chest.

She held back just enough so he wouldn't die, but he coughed blood as the sand fell from his form. She watched his eyes lose focus as he fell unconscious. She quickly slipped a pill into his mouth to help him a little and deactivated sage mode, huffing ever so slight.

"This match's winner is Haruno Sakura!" Hayate called, and Sakura grinned. She would not have won that with sage mode, and so she had to thank Tsunade again. Plus, this put Gaara down for a while, allowing the invasion to take place later.

"The next match will be Uzumaki Naruto vs Hyuuga Hinata!"

-RB-

Itachi frowned at the large gathering of Kumo shinobi below him. While it wasn't anywhere near their full forces, it was a large division. Combined with the Suna and Oto forces, this would have a great chance to doing a lot of damage to Konoha. He glanced over at Honour, who stared impassively at the forces. Like him, she had spotted the real threat within those shinobi, the Jinchuuriki of the Nibi, Nii Yugito, as well as the Jinchuuriki of the Hachibi, Killer Bee. Even the two of them could not deal with two jinchuuriki plus a large force of enemy shinobi.

"We should send a message to Jiraiya. Two jinchuuriki would destroy the village. I'm certain we could hold them off, but it will still be difficult." Itachi nodded his agreement, and a raven appeared next to him. He slipped a scroll into it's talons, and it flew off.

This invasion could break his home, and he couldn't deal with that.

-END-

Things aren't looking good for our heroes. Please R&R and let me know what you think!

Next time

_"Naruto-kun, while I don't want to fight you, I need to make chunin to cement my leadership of the clan. So forgive me for going all out on you." Naruto grinned, and nodded._

_"I wouldn't forgive you if you went easy on me, Hinata. Besides, you are my first opponent who will really challenge me, and I'm excited!" Red chakra poured from Naruto, and Hinata's Byakugan activated, and they shot forward toward each other._


	18. Chunin Finals pt. 3

INTO THE FRAY WE GO! Last chapter of the finals before we go into the Konoha Crush arc. And boy do I have some great content in store for the Konoha Crush arc. All I will say is that things might not turn out all ok for everyone involved.

Also, I'm surprised no one got the reference from Sakura's new punch technique. If you get it in a review, I'll give a special shout out.

I don't own something like Naruto, because if I did, I wouldn't be writing this.

-RB-

"The next match is Hyuuga Hinata vs Uzumaki Naruto!" Hinata had recovered from her fight with Neji. Sakura had supplied Tsunade with the Super Soldier pills she had created, that would allow chakra to completely recover over an hour. Every participant had been given one after their matches with the exception of Gaara, who Tsunade had been instructed to heal at a slow pace to keep him from being ready before the end of the exam. The two participants took the field opposite of one another.

"Match Begin!"

"Naruto-kun, while I don't want to fight you, I need to make chunin to cement my leadership of the clan. So forgive me for going all out on you." Naruto grinned, and nodded.

"I wouldn't forgive you if you went easy on me, Hinata. Besides, you are my first opponent who will really challenge me, and I'm excited!" Red chakra poured from Naruto, and Hinata's Byakugan activated, and they shot forward toward each other.

Naruto was forced to jump to the left when Hinata proved faster than him, fearing the damage her lightning covered hands could do to him. He had faint memories of spars with her in the academy, and the pain that came with the few times she hit him seriously. Naruto was no fool. His taijutsu was passable and, with a few improvements, would be able to fend off even jounin and kage level enemies for a time. However, it was built to be used with shadow clones, and he knew that he would not have a chance against her if he didn't use the Kyuubi's chakra. If he used too much of the chakra, shadow clones simply wouldn't work.

The chakra would cause them to pop, since it did do damage to him while he used it. Sakura explained that using any more than base form would erode at his lifespan. She had told him that the first three tails would not make any significant damage, but going above three tails would cause his lifespan to deteriorate rapidly, trading minutes for weeks of his life.

Hinata's hand hitting his arm snapped out of his thoughts and he was forced to go on the defensive. Fortunately, Sakura had drilled the ability to keep himself from taking damage into his fighting style. While he wouldn't deal any significant damage while using his defensive style, he would prevent himself from taking any significant damage, and this was vital, considering he could outlast almost any opponent.

Naruto jumped back, away from the clan leader, and set himself into a feral stance, channeling more of the Kyuubi's chakra, causing a tail to form. She said she would be going all out, and if what he had seen earlier wasn't her full potential, then he knew that he needed to go all out as well. The chakra cloak hardened around him, causing the mud beneath him to bake and crack. He grinned as Hinata's brows furrowed in worry, and she took her own defensive stance.

Naruto had trained a lot with the Kyuubi's chakra. He had created entire jutsu around the changes it made in his fighting style. He began to gather chakra into his mouth. While he couldn't do a bijudama in this form, he could do small blasts and infuse the blasts with certain elements. Hinata's eyes widened and she began to spin as he released the chakra.

" **Wind Style: Tailed Beast Cutter!** " He growled, and shot a blast of caustic chakra infused with the cutting power of wind chakra shot forth.

"Kaiten!" The blasts impacted the dome of chakra that Hinata produced. The two energies battled for a moment before exploding violently. Naruto shielded his eyes from the shockwave and waited to see the result. When the smoke cleared, Hinata stood, huffing slightly but still standing. She had a little damage on her person, and her shirt was hanging on by a thread, revealing the bandages that the girl used on her developing chest.

Sakura was still jealous that Hinata had managed to grow bigger breasts by the time she was 13 than Sakura had ever possessed. Sakura had long accepted her lack of curves, instead focusing on the strengths of her body in the old timeline, such as her toned legs and shapely rear. It had never stopped her from being a bit jealous at her friends' busts, although Naruto had never cared. He had always cared more about personality than about looks anyway.

Hinata's eyes glowed peculiarly for a moment, and she cried out in pain as she fell to her knees. Naruto's eyes widened, wondering what was going on.

-RB-

Jiraiya watched the match with curiosity. While the now Hyuuga Clan leader was strong, maybe even stronger than her father in many aspects, she didn't have a chance in a power battle against a jinchuuriki. Naruto may not have mastered the Kyuubi, but he was still damn powerful, and would be a serious threat to anyone who wasn't Kage level when using the chakra. Sakura had explained to him that the chakra, in its base, red form, acted like a multiplier to base abilities. It multiplied speed, strength, and agility by a percentage, although it would also add a base amount as well.

At least, until second stage, which was when there was more than twice as much of the Kyuubi's chakra in Naruto's system than his own. This was also known as the fourth tail, and while Jiraiya had never seen it firsthand, Sakura had described it and how the previous timeline's Naruto had decimated Orochimaru in his fourth tail stage and almost killed Jiraiya when the other version of himself had used the key to unlock part of the seal. Jiraiya knew that the only time he had been close to death was when Tsunade had released her Strength of One Hundred seal and beat him into a bloody pulp for peeping on her in the bath.

To think that only four tails of the Kyuubi could cause Naruto to be as strong as that, and Sakura had told him that this Naruto was far stronger than the previous Naruto had been at fifteen. This made Jiraiya wonder just how much stronger Naruto would get when Jiraiya taught him Sage Mode. If he could combine the natural chakra with his biju chakra, he would be extremely hard to defeat, considering a weaker Naruto had learned Sage Mode in the last timeline and stood toe-to-toe with a Rinnegan user with it.

He felt something land on his shoulder, and turned to see one of Itachi's crows, although the chakra around it had him guessing that there was a genjutsu to keep it from being seen by the others in the Kage box. He took the scroll and the crow flew away. He read it quickly, frowning.

_The Storm gathers around the forest, waiting to spark a fire._

It was code, and Jiraiya knew that Itachi had found Kumo's hidden forces. He had suspected that the Raikage would try something to gain the Byakugan once more, but to think that he would invade with Orochimaru was highly suspect. Orochimaru must have promised him Hinata or Hanabi as a reward for aiding in the invasion. Jiraiya noticed a small message form at the corner of the page, probably in reaction to Jiraiya's chakra.

_The Octobull and the Cat are present._

Jiraiya cursed under his breath, causing Mei to glance at him with a raised eyebrow. Kumo bringing both Jinchuuriki meant that they planned to destroy Konoha all together, and while Naruto was a strong fighter, he stood no chance against a fully realized Jinchuuriki. And there were three ready to pounce on his village.

He slipped the scroll to Mei quietly, and she read it quickly, brows furrowed. She turned to him, a look of concern on her face, all playfulness banished from her visage. He leaned over and made some hand signs in Kiri ANBU code, which spelt out that he would need her help to defend his village. Mei nodded, her eyes wide at his usage of the code. Jiraiya hadn't owned the best spy network in the Elemental Nations for nothing. Her own hand signs came fourth, spelling out that she had brought her own Jinchuuriki just in case, and he was staying in their hotel in the city. Jiraiya nodded, glad that she thought ahead.

He knew it had to be the Rokubi jinchuuriki, since they had just sealed the Sanbi after Yagura's death. Although he knew it wouldn't be long until the Sanbi had a jinchuuriki again. If he were betting man, he would guess it would be put into one of the genin that she had brought with her, specifically Haku. The Sanbi's soap bubbles combined with the Hyoton bloodline would make a very powerful shinobi.

As Hinata screamed again in pain, his attention turned back to the match. What was going on with his most promising Hyuuga?

-RB-

"Ah, it has begun," Neji said from next to Sakura, who turned toward him with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, and Neji gestured to Hinata.

"In all of Hyuuga history, we have only had two female clan heads, including Hinata. There is a hidden shrine within our grounds, hidden from anyone. It tells the clan that promising female Hyuuga must be presented to the shrine for testing. According to Hiashi-sama, it has rejected every woman until now, but it accepted Hinata, and she spent her month of training in the shrine, although I cannot say what happened. Hiashi-sama simply said that she would achieve a level than most Hyuuga could only dream of." Sakura frowned. She had never heard of this. Another instance of her interference causing a butterfly effect had appeared.

She could only hope that it would be in their favor.

-RB-

Hinata's screams came to a halt, and she lay on the ground, unmoving for several moments. The arena had gone silent as they waited for something to happen, wondering what Naruto had done to her to make her collapsed like that. Naruto stood on edge, wondering if this was a trick by the Hyuuga to catch him off guard. Hayate watched Hinata for almost a minute, before raising his hand to call the match.

"No." Hinata slowly got to her feet, her eyes closed as she brushed the dust off her body. When she opened her eyes, they glowed a blue color, with several white flowers overlapping to create a pattern within her eyes. It was then that Naruto saw that two small horns had grown out of Hinata's body. She smiled softly at Naruto. "Please give up, Naruto-kun. I don't want to hurt you." Naruto felt a chill go down his spine from her tone.

" **This fight has only just begun, Hinata! No way will I give up so easily!** " Naruto boasted, and Hinata nodded.

"I know, it is what I love about you," Hinata said quietly, and a teal chakra cloak exploded from Hinata, covering her body in greenish-blue flames that Sakura thought looked similar to Naruto's Chakra mode in the last timeline. She sat at the edge of her seat, gripping the bars tightly as she waited to see what Hinata could do with this form. Sakura had planned to let Sasuke win the match between them, due to her own promotion being guaranteed, but if Hinata was as strong as she thought, Sakura would have to beat Sasuke to face Hinata one on one.

Six orbs floated around Hinata in this new mode. She held up a single hand, and one of the balls shot forward at Naruto, shooting a massive beam of power at him. He barely leapt out of the way of the beam, but the explosion from the impact sent him flying. He tumbled a couple of times before landing on his feet, and then his mouth dropped open.

The beam had left a crater at least two dozen feet wide, and half as deep. Naruto know that that attack would kill him if it had hit him. He glanced over at Hinata, who raised a brow at him, the fiery blue chakra giving her an ethereal beauty that Naruto was not used to seeing in the girl. Naruto backed away, and then concentrated on the Kyuubi.

_Give me some more chakra! I have to win!_ Naruto thought, and suddenly the arena disappeared. He found himself in front of the fox's cage.

" **It's no use. Those new eyes of hers are called the Tenseigan. I saw them in the past, and while the girl may not be able to utilize the fully, the original possessor of those eyes could have defeated all of the tailed beasts together,"** the fox explained to Naruto, and he gaped at him.

"So I don't stand a chance?" Naruto asked, and Kurama shook his head.

" **Not yet."** Naruto was forced back to the arena, and was forced shunshin out of the way of another beam, which created another equally massive crater.

"Proctor, I can't win this match up. I forfeit!" Naruto yelled out. Sakura had told him before that his determination was normally a good thing, but if there was no way to win, that he needed to know when to retreat. If he died, then she would kill him.

"This matches winner is Hyuuga Hinata!" Hinata's chakra cloak released, and she gave Naruto a small smile before heading up to the waiting area. Naruto sighed and released his cloak. Hopefully, he would make chunin from what he had seen.

-RB-

Sakura was silently freaking out. Hinata was probably Kage level with that mode, and once she got more familiar with it, even Sakura herself wouldn't want to fight her. Kurama told her about the Tenseigan while she had watched the match, and how it was a match for the Rinnegan. She could only hope her sage mode could match up to the Tenseigan.

"The next match will be Uchiha Sasuke vs Haruno Sakura." As Sasuke began to head down to the arena, Sakura grabbed his shoulder, gripping him tightly as she gave him a look that sent shivers up his spine.

"Sasuke, we both know you can't win this. I will need all the chakra I can muster to beat Hinata, from what we have seen. Just surrender after we do some basic trades, and I promise you, you will make chunin." Sasuke sighed slightly, having seen Hinata's abilities and knowing that, if he should somehow manage to beat Sakura, he would not have the energy to defeat her.

"I want to agree with you, Sakura, but my pride as an Uchiha will not let me simply give up without effort." Sakura's glare tightened, and the grip on his shoulder did as well, and for the first time ever, Sasuke felt afraid of Sakura just from a look.

"Very well. However, I will not hold back. I know all your weaknesses. Don't forget that I molded you into what you are. If you continue down this path, you're going to have a bad time." Sakura let go of his shoulder and disappeared in a shunshin. Sasuke rubbed his shoulder where she had gripped it.

When he arrived in the arena, she was still glaring at him, and he shuddered, feeling the intense amount of killing intent she was throwing his way. He squared up against her, and Hayate looked between the two of them.

"Both fighters ready? Match begin!" The same dark lines that had appeared on Sakura's face during her fight with Gaara reappeared on her face now, and a burst of red chakra caused her eyes to take on a reddish tone with a slit for an pupil. Sasuke immediately backpedaled, his Sharingan snapping on as he weaved through hand seals.

Before he could finish them, she appeared behind him, her eyes cold, the killing intent choking him with its intensity. Even the crowd was panicking at the amount of killing intent that was pouring from Sakura.

"If try to fight me seriously, you are really not going to like what happens next." Sakura flicked him with her right pointer, and he shot toward the wall so fast that it looked like she had shot a lightning jutsu out. He hit the wall with a sickening crunch, standing slowly, before quickly going through hand seals once more.

"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique!" A massive fireball in the shape of a dragon's head shot forth at her, and she simply punched it, dispersing the flames.

"That won't work on me, Sasuke. I won't let you set up for Kirin." She appeared next to him again, so fast his Sharingan could barely keep up. He managed to leap out of the way of another flick, but the shock wave of the attack caused him to stumble away. "Think seriously about your next move, Sasuke. If you attack me again, I will break you." Sakura's voice, melded with harshness of the Kyuubi, caused Sasuke to back away in fear.

"You... are really on another level than me, huh?" Sasuke asked. Sakura didn't respond, beginning to walk toward him slowly. He had to try one more thing. He went through hand seals and channeled chakra into his hand. The Chidori appeared, chirping away. He shot forward at her, opening the first gate like Kakashi had taught him to increase his speed. He thrust it forward, aiming at her shoulder, to avoid fatal damage.

He cried out in pain when she grabbed the offending wrist, twisting it back and away from her.

"Oh well, don't say I didn't warn you." A loud snap sounded out as Sakura broke Sasuke's wrist with a flick of her own wrist. Sasuke cried out in agony, and Sakura punched him in the stomach, breaking several of his ribs. He would have shot away, but she still gripped his wrist. The momentum caused him to fall to the ground, held up only by his wrist. He threw up onto the ground in front of Sakura.

"Proctor, Sasuke is unable to continue," Sakura said as she tossed him aside. He landed in a heap, and didn't get back up. Hayate stared at Sakura for a moment before nodding.

"Winner, Haruno Sakura!" The medics rushed out and took Sasuke away, and Sakura popped another pill to rejuvenate herself. While this pill had some detrimental effects, it would certainly restore her chakra much faster. Before Hayate could even call the next match, Hinata was in the arena, opposite of Sakura.

"I've wanted to fight you, Haruno-san," Hinata said coldly. Sakura winced at the distance she showed when addressing her. This Hinata would never be the quiet, kindhearted girl that Sakura had grown to be friends with in the last timeline. But she would make a worthy rival, and Sakura knew that is what she needed now, more than ever.

"I think you are going to be the only one to truly push me to my limit, Hinata. I am more excited than you can know." Hayate looked between them for a moment.

"The final match of the Chunin Exams, Haruno Sakura vs Hyuuga Hinata, BEGIN!" Hinata's chakra cloak burst into existence, and Sakura's own power ups had never left her. One of the orbs that Hinata had floating about her shot the same beam at her as she had been shooting, and Sakura shot to the side to avoid it, before getting in Hinata's face.

While normally, Sakura wouldn't condone anyone getting into a Hyuuga's taijutsu zone, she knew that she would have to to prevent Hinata from using those orbs. Sakura unleashed a punch, hitting Hinata square in the chest with her lower knuckles first. Hinata grunted in pain, and then Sakura folded her hand to hit her with the lower knuckles, adding the chakra into her strike this time. Hinata shot away from the force of the blow, hitting the far wall and leaving a crater in her absence.

The Hyuuga clan head pulled herself off the ground, her eyes shining brightly as she grinned.

"You are strong. The strongest in our year, and maybe the strongest in the village. No wonder you have Naruto's heart." Hinata shot forward, aiming for taijutsu this time. She struck out with a barrage of quick strikes, and Sakura was forced into backpedaling to avoid getting her tenketsu closed. She saw an opening in Hinata's attacks and went for a counter attack, only for her balance to be thrown off by some unseen force, causing her to stumble and miss the attack. Hinata took advantage of this by thrusting a palm into her side, hitting her right kidney, before kicking her away.

Sakura tumbled a couple of times before sliding into a crouched stance, wiping the blood from her mouth. The kidney had already healed, but it had hurt a lot. She frowned slightly, wondering if that force that had pulled her off balance was something of Hinata's doing. If so, these new eyes were similar to the Rinnegan, able to shift gravity when needed. Sakura charged forward again, attacking once more with a flurry of heavy blows. Just as before, she felt her balance shift and an opening appeared in her attack pattern, letting Hinata get another hit in on her, her palm connecting with Sakura's stomach this time. Sakura backed away, spitting blood once more.

"You are messing with my balance some how. Just what are those eyes? I never knew the Byakugan had an evolution." Sakura was hoping to stall for a bit to make Orochimaru start the invasion before she got too injured to help. Hinata raised a single brow.

"These eyes are called the Tenseigan. The progenitor of the Hyuuga clan, named Otsutsuki Hamura, were the last possessors of these eyes. His brother was known as the Sage of the Six Paths. Their mother was the first user of chakra, and she ruled the planet and the moon with her abilities. When her children were born, they inherited her powers." Sakura had never heard any of this, although she knew that the Sage had been the one to create the Biju by splitting the Jubi. "Kaguya, their mother, let her power corrupt her, and she became a violent dictator, wanting to kill anyone who got in her way and brainwash the remainder of the world. In an effort to stop her, Hamura and the Sage teamed up to defeat her."

"Once defeated, the chakra of the World Tree manifested into the Jubi, corrupted by the evil of man and Kaguya's greed. The Sage sealed the beast's chakra within himself, and then sealed the body inside the moon. Hamura took the remains of his mother and sealed them away as well, into a shrine that his descendants would look after." Sakura frowned.

Konoha, at least in this timeline, was built around the Hyuuga clan grounds, which happened to be the closest point between the Uchiha and the Senju clans that wasn't war-scarred wastelands. So Hinata was saying that the Hyuuga had been here since the days of the Sage.

"Hamura's son passed down a decree, that anyone of great talent would be presented to the shrine, in order to inherit the Tenseigan. His daughter was the first one presented, and she was rejected. His oldest son was presented next, and the power of the shrine killed him." Hinata held out a hand. All six orbs began to spin rapidly around her.

"After some experimentation, it was revealed that the shrine, Kaguya's remains, would not accept a male. So generations passed, and each promising woman was presented to the shrine, and it never accepted anyone. The elders, obsessed with tradition of the clan, presented me to the shrine after I returned from the exams. To everyone's great surprise, the shrine opened, and I walked inside. When I woke next, it was three days ago, and my eyes pulsed regularly, combined with great pain." Suddenly, six beams shot forward at Sakura, who managed to use a single hand seal to force out a Aegis of the Sage. The defense was destroyed, and Sakura huffed a bit. It cost a lot more chakra to force jutsu out with less hand seals.

Suddenly, feathers began to fall, and Sakura immediately cancelled out the genjutsu, and chaos erupted around them as the invasion began.

-END-

So Hinata has the Tenseigan. She will not have the same BS power that Toneri had in 'The Last' movie, mostly due to her body not being Otsutsuki. She only absorbed some of Otsutsuki DNA from the shrine, which was a seal that kept some of Kaguya's DNA in it. As Toneri was full Otsutsuki, he could use the Tenseigan fully. Think of Hinata like Kakashi, in that she can use the doujutsu to some degree, but not the degree that normal Uchiha can (I don't count the Anime allowing him to create a Susanoo.) Although, it will cause her to be stronger than most of her peers for the remainder of the fic.

Also, this is not the canon Naruto universe in every sense of the phrase. Things will be explained, but steps were taken by the first shinobi clans to ensure that their descendants would not be weaker than them.

R&R please.

Next time

_He watched in fascination as Sasuke’s eyes morphed slowly into a pinwheel, a trail of red tears trailing down his face. Orochimaru turned when he sensed another presence, and saw Uchiha Itachi standing there, his own Mangekyou Sharingan activated._


	19. Konoha Crushed

Here we go, the start of the Konoha Crush! So freaking excited!

Disclaimer and things

-RB-

Explosions filled the arena as Sakura jumped next to Hinata and created a quick earth barrier. When the rumbling of the bombs faded, she released the dome to see Jiraiya standing in front of her.

"Sakura, with me. Hinata, find Naruto and tell him to head into the northern forest to pursue Gaara. ANBU reported his siblings taking him there to transform. Naruto is to stop him from attacking the village. Tell him to try to avoid killing the kid. After that, find a Kiri shinobi named Utakata, who is staying at the Konoha Hotel. Escort him to the western gate and hold it against the Kumo forces coming from that direction. Back up will join you there. If you see Tsunade, tell her to meet me here." Hinata nodded, and shot off, her chakra cloak still glowing a bright blue. Kakashi and Gai appeared next to Jiraiya.

"Orders, Hokage-sama!" Gai asked.

"Gai, cover the civilian evacuation of the arena. Gather any genin or chunin you need." Gai shot off toward the stands. "Kakashi, go to the hospital and defend it against any Suna or Oto forces." Kakashi nodded, and disappeared in a shunshin. Jiraiya exploded into smoke, and Sakura shot up to the Kage box.

Orochimaru was already in battle with Jiraiya, and Mei was fighting off Ai. Sakura had hoped that Jiraiya allowing the warlike Ai into the village would not have any consequences, but she had known it would. The only reason Ai had joined the Five Nations Alliance was because Akatsuki had taken his brother at the time. Sakura refreshed her sage mode chakra, and saw Jiraiya, who had yet to enter sage mode, get knocked away from Orochimaru.

"As much as I would like to stay and ensure your death, Jiraiya, I do have a prior engagement. Edo Tensei!" Three coffins rose from the roof, revealing the first three Hokages. The Sandaime looked just as old as he had when he died, and Sakura was concerned at this turn of events. While Jiraiya could take the Nidaime or the Sandaime with his sage mode, but the Shodaime was beyond his league if he fought to his fullest. If she remembered right, Orochimaru took away their free will, which lowered their abilities, but the addition of Ai to the mix made things a bit more worrisome.

"Ah, Jiraiya-kun. I see you succeeded me, as I had hoped you would. At least Danzo did not remain Hokage. I am sorry it has come to this," Hiruzen sounded exceedingly sad about the whole thing. The Shodiame was eying her with a shocked look on his face. Orochimaru inserted a kunai into each Hokage, with a tag on it. Their eyes became even more lifeless than before.

"Destroy them, and then the village," Orochimaru commanded, and the three Hokage shot forward. The snake himself retreated, fading from view as he went after his objective, which she assumed was Sasuke. Unfortunately for the Uchiha, she couldn't abandon Jiraiya and Mei here. If they died, the world would be much harder to save. Jiraiya moved forward to intercept the three Hokage, and Sakura joined him.

-RB-

Naruo glanced about as the rumble of the explosions died down. Was Hinata going crazy with her new powers? Dust shook free from the lights as he sat next to Sasuke, who was just finishing the healing process Tsunade had set him with. The two friends glanced at each other, wondering just what was happening out there when Hinata showed up, her blue chakra cloak glowing brightly.

"Naruto-kun! Hokage-sama has ordered that you go into the northern forest to go after Gaara! He is planning to transform completely and destroy the village!" Naruto looked shocked.

"Hinata, what's going on out there?" Naruto asked, his face still showing his surprise.

"During my fight with Haruno-san, explosions happened around the arena at random. It appears that Kumo, Suna, and Oto are invading. Jiraiya, the Mizukage, and Haruno-san are fighting off the Raikage and the Kazekage!" Naruto remembered that Sakura had told him that the Kazekage was likely Orochimaru in disguise.

"Right! Sasuke, if Orochimaru is behind all this, he's gonna be after a Sharingan! Go home and protect your mom!" Sasuke suddenly shot upright at that revelation, and nodded, grabbing his gear and taking off in a hurry. "Where are you going, Hinata?"

"I have to meet up with the Jinchuuriki of the Rokubi and hold off the incoming Kumo forces at the western gate. Good luck, Naruto-kun! Be careful!" Naruto grinned as Hinata shot away, nodding.

"Of course!" He gathered his own gear and took off toward the northern forest. He had to defend the village. It was the only home he knew.

-RB-

Itachi kicked the body of a Kumo jounin away from him, the man charred black from a fire jutsu. He glanced over to Honour, who has caused the entire right flank of enemies to erupt in the black fire of Amaterasu. Their screams filled the air as the scent of cooked flesh filled his nostrils, causing him to turn a little queasy. He had never enjoyed killing, and the smell of burning bodies was still disgusting to him.

The Kumo forces weren't posing much of a problem as of yet, but the jinchuriki hadn't shown up yet. Jiraiya had sent a message that reinforcements would be coming soon, in the form of a strong Hyuuga and Kiri's own Jinchuriki. Itachi vaguely wonder about Suna's own jinchuriki while stabbing another Kumo shinobi in the eye with a kunai, twisting to ensure the damage to the brain was enough to kill him. Fights like this were clinical in their approach. None of these shinobi had a hope of challenging Honour or Itachi, so it was mostly about being as efficient as possible to prevent any from slipping by and causing havoc to the evacuating civilians.

"Are you sure about this, Itachi? If we do this, we can never return to Akatsuki."

He shook his head at that thought. The village was far more important than knowing Akatsuki's movements. Especially since his brother was here. Itachi sensed a massive swell of chakra and turned to see a ball of energy shooting right toward the gate. Itachi gritted his teeth as a massive armored chakra construct formed around him, complete with sword and shield. The orange Susanoo raised its shield, and the ball of chakra slammed into it, exploding.

When the smoke cleared, Itachi saw that the gate had sustained only a little damage, although the hit had drained his chakra a fair amount. The Susanoo repaired the damage to itself swiftly, allowing Itachi to focus on looking for the location the bijudama had come from. Sure enough, from the trees came a massive two-tailed black and blue cat, the Nibi.

He glanced over at Honour, whose own chakra construct began to form around her, which shaped itself to be a purple warrior with a bow. Black flames erupted along the arrow that the Susanoo readied, and the arrow shot forward at the Nibi, only for another bijudama to impact it at the last moment, causing another large explosion.

"How are your chakra levels, Itachi?" Honour asked.

"I'm fine for now. I haven't practiced much with this ability, so it still drains me pretty quick." Itachi's breaths were slightly ragged as he spoke.

"Don't push yourself. You can't use these techniques without hurting your eyes, like I can." Itachi agreed and released his Susanoo, backing up. He wouldn't be much use here without the Susanoo, but he couldn't leave Honour to fight two Jinchuriki by herself. An eight tailed Octo-bull had joined the Nibi. Even the Eternal Mangekyou would have problems with two Biju at once. Fortunately, it was then that a girl in a chakra cloak with a man a little older than Itachi showed up. The man had a Kiri headband on, so Itachi guessed that this was the Jinchuriki that Jiraiya had spoken of. The girl landed next to him, and he could feel a pleasant aura coming from the blue cloak.

"Are you the reinforcements?" Itachi asked, and she nodded. He recognized her now. This was Hyuuga Hinata, the clan head. She, like Haruno, was compared to him as a prodigy. Her eyes were a strange blue with a floral pattern, indicating that she had unlocked some sort of enhanced form of the Byakugan.

"This is Utakata. We're here to help against the Jinchuriki," Hinata said, and Utakata nodded.

"That chakra construct is surrounding another of our shinobi, who is holding off them on her own. Please help. I have other places I could be more effective at." Hinata nodded, and Utakata closed his eyes. A huge burst of chakra shot out of the man, and he transformed into a giant, six-tailed slug. Last records of him had shown that he hadn't mastered the beast yet, but apparently he had now. The orbs orbiting around Hinata pointed forward, and fired six massive blasts of chakra at the Nibi, who had just been thrown away from Honour's Susanoo.

The explosion shook the ground as the Nibi was sent flying away. The Rokubi shot forward and grappled against the Hachibi. Itachi nodded, satisfied that the three of them could hold off the two Biju plus the other Kumo shinobi, and took off, heading toward the Uchiha grounds. Orochimaru was after a Sharingan, and Sasuke would realize this, and go protect their mother.

-RB-

Naruto huffed slightly as he leapt tree to tree, chasing after the scent of bloody sand. He had activated the tailless cloak of the Kyuubi's chakra, boosting his senses and allowing him to track his prey. His blades were extended along his wrist, itching to be bathed in blood. Jiraiya had told him not kill Gaara, and he knew that Gaara was just him in a worse place. He couldn't bring himself to kill such a pathetic soul. But Jiraiya had said nothing of his siblings, and Naruto knew that, should they get in the way, he would kill them in a heartbeat.

His senses flared and he barely pulled his head back to dodge a barrage of senbon. He stopped on the next branch, glancing to see where the attack had come from. He could smell the puppet boy, and grinned.

"Hiding against me is useless." Another volley of needles came out of the brush, and Naruto simply deflected them with his bracer blades. He shot forward, weaving through a heavy barrage of projectiles, and found the boy pretty quickly. His puppet came out of the brush to attack Naruto, and the blonde spun, an orb of pure chakra forming quickly in his hand as he slammed it into the puppet, destroying it easily. He kicked the boy out of the tree and threw a kunai into his stomach, causing the face-painted kid to cough blood as he hit the ground. Naruto continued quickly, leaving him to his fate.

He suddenly smelled a bunch of new scents. There was a large contingent of shinobi heading toward the village. He imagined they were the enemy, and detoured slightly. He couldn't let them reinforce the ambush forces inside the village already.

"Come on, boys! Orochimaru-sama said we get to keep anything we pillage, and any women are ours to rape as we please!" Naruto growled upon hearing this, and jumped out of the trees to land in front of the large group. There were about twenty shinobi, all at least chunin level from what Naruto could tell.

"Sorry to put a damper on your plans, but you won't be pillaging anything." Two tails formed behind Naruto, causing his whisker marks to darken considerably and his eyes to become even more fox-like. The tails swayed ominously behind him as he crouched into a feral stance.

"Crap, is that the Kyuubi Jinchuriki?!" One of the men yelled, and Naruto pounced, using his enhanced strength to rip the arm of the first guy he ran into. The Oto shinobi tried to scramble, but Naruto's speed and strength proved too much. He ripped most of them to pieces, watching the blood spurt out of their detached limbs with a morbid curiosity. After ripping the last guy's head off, he tossed the body to the side and continued his tracking of Gaara, his bloodlust sated for now.

-RB-

Sasuke had ended up fighting a couple of Suna shinobi on his way to the Uchiha complex. They had been cannon fodder, so he had dispatched them pretty quickly. He wasn't at top shape after the beating Sakura had given him, but he was good enough to kill a few basic chunin.

The Uchiha complex was on the outskirts of the village, as far as one could get from the center of the village as one could get without leaving Konoha. It took a little over fifteen minutes to get over to the complex, and he was relieved to find his mother just fine, having locked her door and sitting inside with a crying Satoko. He knocked on the door.

"Mom, it's me, Sasuke!" he yelled, and Mikoto glanced through the blinds, her Sharingan blazing wildly. She opened the door and pulled Sasuke in quickly, before closing and locking it once more.

"Oh, Sasuke! I'm so glad you are ok! I ran here as soon the invasion started to keep Satoko safe. I was worried you would get caught in the fighting!" Mikoto threw her arms around her son, and Sasuke smiled softly as he hugged his mother.

"Mom, Orochimaru is behind this invasion. He wants an Uchiha body. We have to hide somewhere where he couldn't find-" he was cut off when the door was knocked off its hinges, and Orochimaru stepped through the door.

"Ah, the remnants of the Uchiha family. I require one of your bodies." Orochimaru said with no hesitation. He was tired of this run around he had been given since his plans had begun. He was just glad Kabuto had been recovered from the Konoha T&I department. The boy had been only a little worse for wear, but he would be fine.

Mikoto suddenly launched past Sasuke and kicked Orochimaru in the chest, out of the house. Orochimaru melted into mud, and Mikoto pushed Sasuke down.

"Stay here." Her voice took an extremely authoritative tone, and Sasuke saw the woman who led squads into battle during the third shinobi world war. He went to protest, and she gave him a look that brokered no chance for argument. "Protect your sister."

Mikoto stepped out of the house, and turned toward Orochimaru, who had come out of one of the abandoned buildings. He chuckled malevolently as he sank into a combat stance.

"Dear Mikoto. Do you really think you can defeat me? I am one of the Sannin, and you were barely a jounin when you retired." Mikoto closed her eyes for a second, nodding.

"I know I have no chance to defeat you, even with a matured Sharingan. However…" her eyes snapped open, revealing a floral design to her Sharingan. "I have an ace up my sleeve."

-RB-

Sakura managed to deflect a punch from the Nidaime Hokage, and delivered her own punch to the man's chest, disabling him for a few moments. Due to Orochimaru taking their will away, they also regenerated at a slower pace than the ones she had fought in the Fourth war. They had only taken a couple seconds to regenerate from even complete destruction, where these ones took up to a minute.

Jiraiya was in full sage mode, his free time having been spent trying to perfect the mode, due to Sakura's tale of his death. He had eventually perfected it, and it had made him much stronger. He was currently going toe-to-toe with the Sandaime Hokage. His sensei was a formidable warrior, even if held back by Orochimaru's jutsu, and Jiraiya had been able to hold him off. He didn't know exactly how to defeat these resurrected fighters, but Sakura had told him about the United Shinobi army sealing away the subjects of this same jutsu during the war.

Tsunade was squaring off against the Shodaime, her grandfather. His wood style was proving to be quite troublesome to fight against, but his weakened state prevented him from using sage mode, which gave Tsunade an advantage. She was currently beating him through a tree, not seeming to have a lot of trouble with him in his weakened state.

Mei was fighting with the Raikage, Ai. While Ai's speed and taijutsu strength were giving her trouble, she had managed to keep him on his toes with her lava and steam styles. Even his lightning armor couldn't hold up against the caustic properties of her steam style, which Sakura knew could even melt a Susanoo. Mei was using water and fire to keep Ai away from her while keeping his lightning armor weak enough that he couldn't just power through the jutsu she was throwing at him.

"Hokage-sama, we need to seal these reanimations away!" Sakura yelled, and Jiraiya nodded. He looked at Fukasaku and Shima on his shoulders.

"Let's keep them still, shall we?" The toads began to sing loudly, causing everyone, including Tsunade and Mei to freeze in place, the sound immobilizing them. Sakura had, fortunately, learned to counter just about any genjutsu, and broke free of the sound based illusion quickly. She quickly went through a series of hand seals, and a dome of earth erupted around the Shodaime. Jiraiya pulled out several seal tags and placed them in several places over the dome. They repeated the process for the Nidaime and the Sandaime, right as the genjutsu ended.

"Good job!" Mei said as she recovered, and glanced around for the Raikage. Sakura and Jiraiya kept on a look out as well, while Tsunade slowly pulled herself from the wood jutsu her grandfather had caught her in. Sakura saw a flash of movement behind Tsunade, and her eyes went wide.

"Shisho/Tsunade!" Jiraiya and Sakura shouted at the same time as Ai landed, his lightning armor going strong. A stricken look appeared on Tsunade's face.

"Oh." Her head tumbled off of her shoulders, and her body fell. Sakura's eyes went even wider as the head rolled to her feet. She knelt slowly, picking the head up in trembling hands. Jiraiya was staring in shock, while Ai looked triumphant.

"Shisho…" Sakura whispered, and something inside her broke. She felt power rush through her veins as she snapped her head over toward Ai, her eyes now red with rage. Suddenly, a dozen tree roots shot out from the rooftop, piercing Ai through his body in several different places. Sakura dropped the Sannin's head and screamed in rage as the roots ripped Ai to pieces. Dozens of trees shot out from the surrounding areas. Mei retreated from the rooftop as Jiraiya watched in horror as Sakura's rage caused more and more trees to destroy the surrounding structures.

"Well, shit."

-RB-

Naruto stood over the blonde girl's unconscious body. He doubted she would be a problem in the near future, since he had snapped her fan in half and broken both of her arms. Gaara glared at him with his one green eye, the other covered by his transformation. Naruto grinned as two tails swayed lazily behind him.

"Well, Gaara, I think it is time for you to go back to sleep." Gaara growled and threw sand at Naruto, who jumped away from the projectiles.

"UZUMAKI NARUTO! I WILL KILL YOU AND THEN KILL HARUNO! I WILL PROVE MY EXISTENCE!" Gaara screamed, and Naruto was forced to dodge away from more projectiles. Fortunately, Gaara's current form was more manageable than his base form. Naruto could out-maneuver this form rather easily. The sand was slowly spreading across Gaara's body, and Naruto knew that he needed to beat the other jinchuriki before he could complete the transformation.

Naruto rushed Gaara, his chakra cloak deflecting the sand shuriken that Gaara threw to keep him back. Gaara swung his large sand arm at Naruto, but Naruto was able to use his tails to redirect himself, flipping over the red-haired boy and delivering a huge blow to Gaara's back, sending the boy flying. Gaara roared in pain as the acidic chakra that Naruto was covered in burned his back.

The sand had covered most of Gaara's face by now, and Naruto guessed that he had, maybe, a minute or two to stop Gaara. He shot forward, willing more chakra out. A third tail formed behind him as his stomach began to burn slightly. Gaara held his arm up as a shield, and Naruto ripped into the arm with a savage abandon. Gaara screamed in pain as he felt his arm break again, and threw Naruto away with a mighty heave.

Naruto watched as the sand completely engulfed Gaara, leaving only his feet uncovered. He shot forward again, but was surprised when the boy managed to knock him back with a swing of his other arm. His strength was gaining rapidly, and Naruto knew he couldn't match him before long. He gathered a Rasengan into his hand, and shot forward, the swirling purple orb pulsing menacingly. Gaara put both his arms up in defense, and Naruto slammed the jutsu into the boy. The Rasengan quickly ate through the arms and slammed into Gaara's front. The hardened sand held out for a few moments before it, too, gave way to the Kyuubi Rasengan. Gaara screamed as the jutsu slammed into him, sending him spiraling away.

Naruto scowled as Gaara quickly stood, and he suddenly got taller and taller. The sand piled on itself over and over until Shukaku's form appeared in the sand.

"I'M FREE! AFTER ALL THIS TIME!" Shukaku yelled out, and Naruto cursed under his breath. He couldn't summon a toad with this much of the Kyuubi's chakra in his system, and he couldn't match the Shukaku as he was. He knew he had to finish this now. Gaara had used some weird sleep jutsu after the Rasengan had hit him, and Naruto guessed that waking him would end the Shukaku's possession. Fortunately for him, he had something that would allow him to get close to the boy.

He pulled out several strangely shaped kunai, and leapt up to the top of tree. He launched one at Shukaku's head.

"Hey, ugly! I got a bone to pick with you!" Naruto yelled, to get the Biju's attention. Shukaku looked down at Naruto just as the Kunai hit him in the nose. He grunted slightly, more annoyed than injured, and then gasped in surprised when Naruto appeared in front of his face with an orange flash.

-RB-

Orochimaru cursed as another mud clone was used as his replacement. The clones baked instantly in the black fire coming from Mikoto's eyes. It would be his luck that watching her husband die and believing her son dead when Itachi had killed his clan had caused her Sharingan to evolve into the Mangekyou. The Mangekyou caused a considerable boost in abilities, allowing an Uchiha to spam out S ranked jutsu like nothing.

So far, she had only shown the Amaterasu, but Orochimaru knew that Itachi had at least one other ability; his famous Tsukiyomi. Orochimaru suspected he had another ability, but had no proof. When they had fought in the past, Itachi had defeated him rather easily with only the Tsukiyomi. Still, even just the Amaterasu was enough that Orochimaru was forced to use all of his tactical abilities to get close to the woman.

"Just leave, Orochimaru! I can stall long enough for someone to come help me. You can't get close to me!" Mikoto shouted, and Orochimaru laughed.

"Fufufu. You clearly don't know who you are fighting. No one alive can keep me from my goals." A bunch of snakes shot out of the ground at Mikoto, who was able to jump away just in time. The snakes were instantly consumed in black fire as soon as she landed. Sasuke could be seen peeking out of the window, his own red Sharingan wide in surprise of his mother's strength.

Orochimaru could take advantage of this. If he could get Mikoto to slip up or show an opening, Sasuke would surely come to defend his beloved mother. A trained jounin like Mikoto wouldn't allow herself to be distracted by Sasuke's presence, and Orochimaru wanted to keep both of them alive so he could have a backup, or to potentially breed another body.

He unleashed a strong wind jutsu at Mikoto, who was forced to jump away. Several snakes shot out of the ground at her once again, and she engulfed them in the black flames once more. Orochimaru appeared behind the distracted Mikoto, his sword emerging from his mouth to attack her backside. Suddenly, the door to the Uchiha house was kicked open, with Sasuke flying out of the structure. Mikoto managed to block the attack, but her eyes went wide when she saw a clone of Orochimaru going for Sasuke.

"Mother!" Sasuke shouted, and Mikoto appearing in front of Sasuke, her eyes widening in anger at her son when Orochimaru's blade emerged from chest. She coughed, blood splattering the boy's face. She looked down, her head trembling in her failing strength as her hand came up slowly, fingering the blade.

"Sasuke…" She muttered, and slumped over. Sasuke's eyes went wide, and Orochimaru cursed slightly, annoyed about losing a potential tool. He watched in fascination as Sasuke's eyes morphed slowly into a pinwheel, a trail of red tears trailing down his face. Orochimaru turned when he sensed another presence, and saw Uchiha Itachi standing there, his own Mangekyou Sharingan activated.

-END-

Two deaths, three reveals. Please R&R to let me know what you think.

Next time

_Sakura had never known loss like this. Others had lost around her, and she had been sad for them, but no one close to her had ever passed away. She flexed her fingers, watching the plant bloom into brilliant flowers. Mokuton was the last thing she expected to have. She had to learn to use it. If she did, she could be a much bigger help in the war to come._


	20. The End of The Beginning

Sorry for the long delay! A lot of things came up in my personal life in the recent past, and I haven't had any time to write!

Many people disliked Tsunade showing up and then dying immediately, but Sakura needed a motivator to push her to make real changes. She was too concerned about the end game, instead of trying to fix what was right in front of her. Basically, Tsunade will be for Sakura what Jiraiya ended up being for Naruto.

Mikoto was always destined to be the reason Sasuke got a Mangekyou. Satoko was always destined to be the reason Sasuke remained loyal to Konoha.

And as for Sakura fighting Hinata… well, imagine you are so far ahead of your peers that no one even comes remotely close, and then, suddenly, one of them comes out of nowhere and can challenge you. How excited would you be? It was a chance to have someone to truly challenge you for the first time in seven years. That's how Sakura felt.

On we go! I don't own Naruto or Naruto related things!

-RB-

Sasuke stared at Itachi as Orochimaru was forced to use a replacement to get away from the black fire that had erupted from the younger Uchiha's eyes. Itachi gazed back, his own Mangekyou swirling as he drew Sasuke into the Tsukiyomi.

"Sasuke…" Itachi muttered as Sasuke rushed forward and punched Itachi in the face. Itachi let him, knowing he deserved it.

"You LEFT us! Mother told me about the Uchiha clan's planned coupe! She told me how you were ordered to kill them! Why didn't you tell ME?! If not then, then later, when I would have understood? When our sister was born?" Sasuke wiped an arm across his eyes to rid himself of the tears. Itachi wiped the blood off of his lip.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke. There were greater things happening in the world that required my attention. You know of Akatsuki and I am sure Haruno told you of their plans. I was needed to spy on them for the Hokage." Sasuke glared at Itachi for a moment.

"Why didn't you kill us?" Sasuke asked. "Mother and me, I mean."

"I was ordered not to kill Mother and you. I would not have killed you, even if ordered." Sasuke's eyes widened. "I love you too much to ever try to kill you."

"That didn't stop you from trying to break my mind and make me mad with revenge." Sasuke said, deadpanned. Itachi sighed, nodding.

"I am only human, Sasuke. I am glad that I didn't kill Mother. If I had, I'm sure the end result would have been much worse for you. I am sorry to see her gone, though. You have awakened your Mangekyou due to her death, just like mine awakened when Shisui died. Be careful with these eyes. Using them too much will cause your eyes to deteriorate, and you will eventually go blind. My own eye sight has suffered somewhat due to this." Sasuke nodded, sending a small smirk at his brother.

"Shall we kill this snake again?" Itachi nodded, a small smile on his own face.

"Very well. Let us fight together as comrades and brothers." The Tsukiyomi shattered as Itachi released the powerful genjutsu, and the two brothers turned toward Orochimaru, who looked worried. The snake could not defeat Itachi on his own, what hope did he have against two Uchiha with the Mangekyou. Perhaps he should just give up on learning all the jutsu in the world. He had already achieved immortality, why would he need all the jutsu?

Black fire erupted around the snake, but he had already replaced himself once more, slithering away from the battlefield. He would have another chance at a Sharingan later, if the toddler Uchiha showed the promise her brothers did.

Sasuke watched the mud clone melt. He glanced over at Itachi, who was salvaging Mikoto's eyes. As Sakura had often told him, there was no reason to let good resources go to waste. Perhaps these eyes could help someone else the same way that Kakashi had become famous with his gifted Sharingan.

"Sasuke, there is a final form to these eyes. If a close relative unlocks the Mangekyou as well, and then you transplant their eyes, you will unlock the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, the pinnacle of our eyes. They will not deteriorate like the normal Mangekyou, and you will be able to use even more powerful Doujutsu." Itachi finished sealing his mother's eyes into a scroll.

"So one of us will take Mother's eyes?" Sasuke asked, and Itachi shook his head.

"No, I sealed these away to prevent anyone from taking their power. I learned my lesson from Danzo stealing our clan-mates eyes after I killed them. I have also taking to burning powerful shinobi's corpses to prevent anyone who knows the Edo Tensei from using them. Orochimaru has one of the most powerful jutsu ever created at his fingertips, and he doesn't use it to its fullest potential." Itachi walked over to Sasuke, placing a hand on his shoulder. Mikoto's body was reduced to ash with a quick application of the Amaterasu. "We will trade eyes later. This should allow us to both unlock the Eternal Mangekyou. However, I have to go help a friend defend the village. Stay here and protect our sister." Sasuke nodded, unsure as to how he should feel about his brother. He watched the man leave.

"He has taken far too many things onto his shoulders," Sasuke said to himself as he retreated into his house, picking up his crying sister and holding her close. He whispered calming words to her as he rocked her, sitting alone on his couch, feeling the pain of losing his mother wrack his body. A sob erupted from his throat, and the calming words caught on the lump in his throat.

Sasuke and Satoko cried together while a war raged in the village near them, as he mourned the loss of the woman who had held his life together, and who had loved him like no one else ever would.

-RB-

Naruto's use of his father's jutsu had caused Shukaku to lose track of him for the moment, allowing him land on the monster's arm with chakra. He sprinted up the arm, aiming at the boy asleep on the monster's head. If he woke the red-head up, he was sure the beast would dissipate. However, things would not be so easy. Shukaku realized where Naruto was soon enough, and a barrage of sand came off the arm at the blonde.

Naruto was forced to jump off, throw his father's kunai away from the beast and disappearing in an orange flash. As he free fell, he went through several hand seals, biting his thumb as he did so.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted, and a large toad appeared underneath him, cushioning his fall.

"Hello, Uzumaki-san. Do you need my assistance?" Gamaken asked, and Naruto grinned.

"Yeah! See that big, ugly monster over there? I need you to distract it long enough for me to hit the boy on its forehead. I gotta pop that pimple!" Gamaken nodded.

"I may not be graceful enough to help, but I will try my hardest." The toad leapt forward in an explosion of motion, and Naruto was barely able to hold on as he latched himself onto the toad's head with chakra at the last moment. The forked staff of Gamaken crashed into Shukaku's arm. Naruto created a dozen clones, the popping sounds as they appeared signaling his signature jutsu.

He spun one of his father's kunai around his middle finger as the clones rushed up the forked staff onto the sand monster. Shukaku roared in annoyance, knocking Gamaken away and swatting at the clones like one would at flies. Rasengans peppered the giant sand creature as the real Naruto threw several three-pronged kunai into the sand creature. He flashed to each one, closing the distance to Gaara as sand came up to stop him each time.

Flashing over and over, Naruto teleported rapidly around the creature, trying to get an opening toward the redhead. Clones popped into existence rapidly as well, only to be destroyed in a puff of smoke several seconds later. Naruto grunted as some sand lashed out and hit him in the stomach, sending him flying away. Gamaken caught Naruto before the blonde could fall to his death.

"I'm afraid this battle is much tougher than I can manage by myself, Uzumaki-san. I apologize for not being graceful enough," Gamaken said. Naruto stood slowly, feeling the damage from the sand slow him down.

"Don't worry about it, Gamaken. I'll just have to go all out." A red chakra cloak erupted around Naruto, and two tails quickly formed behind him. He went through hand seals, and used the summoning jutsu once more. This time, it was Gamabunta that appeared.

"Oi, brat! I told you not to summon me unless we had a drink together!" Gamabunta roared. Naruto gritted his teeth as the caustic chakra ran through his system.

" **Shut up! My home is under attack, and that monster is going to destroy it if you don't help me! If you would let innocent people die just because I haven't had a drink with you, then I don't want you as a summon!** " Naruto shouted, his voice rough from the Kyuubi's chakra. Gamabunta stopped and stared at Naruto. No summoner had ever had the guts to speak to him like that.

"Fine! I'll help you this time! But you better get me some damn good sake!" Bunta grumbled, and unsheathed his sword. "Let's go, Ken!" Ken nodded, and they shot forward at Shukaku. Ken shot left and Bunta shot right. "Kid, transform me into something that can grab onto him so you can get at the kid on its head!" Naruto grinned and held his hands together into the tiger seal.

" **Henge!** " Bunta exploded into smoke, and the Kyuubi shot out of the smoke, grabbing onto the raccoon with its long claws. Ken pinned one its arms with his forked staff. Naruto threw his kunai above Gaara's head and ran forward on all fours, his tails deflected blasts of sand as they came at him.

Suddenly, a massive surge of sand shot from Shukaku's arm, and Naruto grinned. With a red flash, he appeared above Gaara, and slammed his heel into the sleeping boy's head.

" **No! NO! I JUST GOT FREE! NOOOoooo…** " Shukaku's voice trailed off as the beast was resealed into Gaara, and the redhead fell, the chakra that held the sand together dissipating. Naruto threw another kunai, catching Gaara's shirt and pinning him to a tree to prevent him from taking damage when he fell. Ken caught the blonde as he descended, and set him down softly. Naruto let the Kyuubi's chakra go, and the tails faded into nothing. He looked up at the toads.

"Thanks for your help!" Ken and Bunta nodded, though the latter looked slightly annoyed. Naruto walked toward Gaara, who had awakened.

"No! Get away from me!" Gaara screamed. Naruto raised a brow at this.

"I know how you feel, Gaara," Naruto began. "I grew up alone and hated." Gaara stared at him. Naruto had seemed so loved to the redhead. He had friends; he had adults who cared about him. "When I was four, on my birthday, I was beaten almost to death by a drunkard who thought that the Kyuubi festival would be better if the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi died." Gaara's eyes widened. So Naruto was a jinchuuriki as well.

"Everything changed for me when I met Sakura-chan. It was in the academy, and she came up and offered to be friends with me. I had seen her play on the playground before. She had always loved flowers and plants, making them sway and dance with her mood. I was smitten with her. I had always wanted to talk to her, but I was scared. I figured that she, like other children, would be told not to play with me." Naruto smiled sadly at this.

"She saved me from my own hatred. I had begun to hate the villagers for the things they had said and done. She was the first person to truly care for me, to go out of their way to help me. Sometimes, when she looked at me, I could see the ghost of something she had lost in her eyes. It made me want to protect her. I decided that I would get strong enough to protect her from any danger. I haven't made it yet, but I will never give up until I do." Naruto looked over to see Gaara's siblings standing there, weapons out despite being injured, ready to defend their brother to the death.

"You are strong… because you have people to protect?" Gaara asked, and Naruto shrugged.

"I'm strong because I had friends to help me. I fight to protect them, if that makes sense." Gaara nodded, and looked over at his siblings, shocked to see them there. "You seem to have people willing to protect and help you as well." Naruto stopped a dozen feet away. The siblings went to collect Gaara, and Naruto spun a kunai in his hand. "I can't let you take him away right now. Until we figure out all the details of the invasion, you three are prisoners of war." Temari looked ready to fight that when Naruto's eyes turned red for a moment, and she quickly closed her mouth.

"The battle is still going on in the village. Once it is over, I will escort you there. Here's a pill for your brother, he looks like he's lost a lot of blood." Temari glanced over and saw Kankuro was very pale. She caught the pill he tossed and gave it to Kankuro, who gave Naruto a look of suspicion. Naruto scoffed. "If I had wanted to kill you, you would have been dead several times over."

Damn Sakura for forcing him to be more merciful.

-RB-

Jiraiya had been forced to retreat immediately from Sakura as the girl proceeded to destroy most of the stadium. Fortunately, the civilians had already been evacuated from the area, but Jiraiya watched in awe as a massive tree continued to grow in the middle of the arena. Most of the surrounding buildings had been destroyed by the roots of the tree, and already, it surpassed the Hokage mountain in height. He had never seen a tree of this size before.

Most of the invaders had retreated after Ai had been killed. With the two Hokage sealed and Orochimaru nowhere to be found, the remaining Oto and Kumo forces had retreated, and Suna forces had surrendered upon learning that Orochimaru had killed their Kage. Still, Sakura's rage continued, engulfing a larger and larger part of the village. He had no idea how to stop her. A few ANBU had attempted to knock her unconscious before the tree had gotten too large and had been torn to pieces, like Ai.

He glanced over at Mei, who was watching the tree with wide eyes and an open mouth. He knew it was just a matter of time before Sakura ran out of chakra, and then it would be safe to approach the tree to extract her. People would be out for her blood since she had destroyed part of the town and killed several Konoha shinobi in her rage, but Jiraiya knew that war would erupt from this invasion, and they would need Sakura in the coming years.

That wasn't even counting her knowledge of the future. Despite her insistence that it wouldn't be of much use, it had already saved hundreds of lives and allowed Team 7 to defeat enemies they would have been outmatched by. She knew the abilities of most of the strongest shinobi in the world, and it was because of this that he would need her around as well. He would not allow her to be harmed by the people because of their want for revenge.

"Hokage-sama, Kumo's jinchuuriki have retreated. Genin Hyuuga Hinata and Jounin Honour have sustained moderate injuries and have been rushed to the hospital." Asuma reported. Jiraiya turned to him.

"Very good. Send a group of chunin to patrol the village and ensure no enemies have hidden in the village during the confusion." Asuma nodded and jumped away. Jiraiya turned to Gai.

"Genin Uzumaki has reported that he captured Suna's jinchuriki and the Yondiame Kazekage's other two children as well. He awaits word that it is safe to bring them in." Jiraiya grinned at Naruto's progress and nodded.

"Send the word that it is safe, and that he is to take them to the Hokage tower." Gai jumped away. He turned to Kakashi, who looked distraught despite his attempt to appear fine.

"Genin Uchiha and Jounin Uchiha report that Matriarch Uchiha was killed by Orochimaru during the invasion. They managed to drive him away afterwards." Jiraiya felt his heart drop at that. Kakashi had been through a lot, and now he had lost yet another person he cared for.

"And Satoko?" Jiraiya asked, and Kakashi nodded.

"She is fine, if somewhat frazzled. I don't expect her to remember much of this, being only a month old." Jiraiya nodded his agreement at that statement.

"Go be with your daughter and step-sons, Kakashi." The man jumped away without a word.

"Hokage-sama, the tree has stopped moving." Jiraiya turned to see that, indeed, the tree had stopped moving and growing. Perhaps Sakura was out of chakra by now? He wasn't willing to risk anyone's life to check. He moved forward, the two toads on his shoulders looking tired from the fighting but still ready for anything.

"I'll go extract her from the tree. The rest of you, ensure that no resistance remains within the walls, consolidate the injured and dead, and then have all shinobi meet me outside the Kage's tower. We have to rebuild and prepare for war." Jiraiya leapt forward, heading in toward the tree. The roots had damage streets and buildings as far as half the village away from the tree. Konoha would have to rebuild quickly from this, but perhaps this would allow for expansion and more commerce… once the war was completed.

There was a strange dust in the air as he approached the tree, and then he realized that the materials floating on the wind were sakura petals, hundreds of thousands of them. The tree was a cherry tree, and it had wept red blossoms for Tsunade. He made his way toward the base of the tree, barely able to see the ground due to the massive amount of petals covering the streets.

He found her at the base of the tree, seated on one of its great roots. She was unconscious, Tsunade's head still clutched in her arms. Jiraiya bent down to pick her up, and was surprised when Sakura's eye peaked open.

"We have to burn the dead…" Sakura rasped out. Jiraiya raised a brow at this. "The Edo Tensei… if Orochimaru joins Madara and Obito during the war, he will bring back all the powerful shinobi who died here today." Sakura's eye closed, and her breathing leveled out once more. He picked her up, and headed toward the hospital. Sakura had described to him the dozens upon dozens of Edo Tensei zombies that had attacked them in her war. Fighting two had been hard enough, he couldn't imagine dozens.

Sakura had seen too much, like every shinobi before her, and he was impressed it had taken her this long to break. The rest of them had snapped and taken a vice long ago, and this girl had taken the world on her shoulders with only training as her vice. She was no Gai, who was insane enough to let training be his vice. She needed to have something to distract her from everything, but he would have to let her decide what that would be.

Or else she would break for good.

-RB-

A last sweep of the village by the elite Jounin revealed that all enemy forces had surrendered or escaped. The bodies of all those who died were gathered into one of the training fields, and burned, like Sakura had suggested. It wasn't much a funeral, and this hurt morale, but Jiraiya knew that it would make life easier in the long run. This coming war would make life much harder in the near future, and it would ruin any plans of a shinobi alliance.

Fortunately, this invasion wasn't a total loss. Naruto had captured Suna's jinchuriki and Raza's other two children. Many Suna shinobi had surrendered to Konoha and Jiraiya planned on using this when forcing his peace treaty on Suna. As much as he wanted them to suffer for aiding in the invasion, for helping in the events that led to Tsunade's death, he knew that they needed allies in the coming war. Kumo had been militarized for a long time, and had more shinobi then Konoha did. He knew that word would spread about the blonde jinchuriki who looked like the Yondiame Hokage, and Iwa would not stay out the war because of this.

It looked to be another shinobi World War. Konoha, Kiri, and what remained of Suna vs Iwa, Kumo, and perhaps Oto. Fortunately, this created clear battle lines, and now they would have to avoid fighting in Ame. Itachi had told him that Pein possessed the Rinnegan, and anyone with those legendary eyes would be avoided at all costs. He only imagined that Iwa and Kumo would not respect this at first, and Pein would destroy their forces. He knew Nagato would not allow another war to take place in his home, no matter how he had changed.

Jiraiya gathered his shinobi in front of the Hokage Tower. Mei had already left with her jinchuriki, promising that she would aid Konoha in the war. They had already hammered out alliance terms during the week she was in Konoha before the exams. He had even gotten the chance to peak at her in the bath. Peaking was a luxury he often couldn't afford anymore, for it wouldn't do for the Hokage to be out peaking when there was work to be done. When he did peak, it was a shadow clone under transformation in addition to his transparency technique. Jiraiya giggled slightly at the memory of Mei's voluptuous form, naked with droplets of water trailing down her skin. He sobered when the image turned to Tsunade, and sighed heavily.

"Well, here we go." He stepped forward to the microphone.

"We have lost much this day," Jiraiya called out. His shinobi looked melancholy, and many were crying at their losses. Shizune looked near comatose as she stood, staring unseeingly at the ground. His heart clenched as he sighed once more. "An act of cowardice and treachery damaged our village and killed our shinobi, and we will not allow this to go unpunished. I have sent a message to the Daimyo. The lands of fire and water have declared war on the lands of lightning and sound." Several people looked eager for the war, probably to get revenge for their lost loved ones. Jiraiya hated war, and would not have agreed to war normally, but if they let Kumo get away with doing this, it would only encourage others to do something similar in the future.

"But now, we must mourn the dead and rebuild. Effective immediately, the academy is in war mode. Children will not have the chance to be children for long. Take advantage of these last days and weeks with your children, for many of them will become shinobi faster than originally planned." Asuma rubbed Konohamaru's shoulder, and the boy looked up at his uncle. Jiraiya knew the boy would be a genin within the year.

"The will of fire flickered, but it did not die. It will burn brighter than ever, and we will show our enemies what happens when you mess with fire." Several people let out a cheer at this. Jiraiya went to step out from the microphone when a voice rang out.

"What about Haruno?" Jiraiya looked for the source of the voice when he saw Yugao, clenching Hayato's sword in her hands. Hayato had been one of the few unlucky enough to be near the arena when Sakura had gone berserk. He had been crushed by a root as it exploded from the ground, and Yugao had been forced to watch her lover die in front of her.

"Haruno Sakura is currently in medical care. She will be part of the war effort," Jiraiya explained, but several shinobi came forward as well, having lost people to Sakura's rampage.

"She should be punished!"

"She killed our forces!"

"Kill her!"

"ENOUGH!" Jiraiya shouted, and the cries were silenced. "Haruno lost control of an ability she had never had time to train. She had watched someone she cared about die in front of her. She will not be punished for this. Everyone deserves a second chance. If I hear that anyone has given Haruno ANY trouble for what happened, they will be SEVERELY punished. Am I clear?" The shinobi nodded, looking angry about the decision. Jiraiya made a mental note to have Sakura watched by someone he trusted.

"Dismissed!"

-RB-

"So… Itachi and Honour were traitors after all." Pein turned to Konan, who looked trouble about this news. She had developed a rapport with Honour, due to her being the only other female in Akatsuki. Even Pein would admit that he had enjoyed the woman's company. However, he had always suspected the two of them. He wished he had paired up Itachi with Kisame instead, for it would have forced the Uchiha to keep his act up at all times, and not have the chance to betray him.

"I knew this was coming. The war was a surprise, but the Uchiha pair's betrayal was not." Konan glanced over at the masked man who went by Tobi, and Zetsu, who stood next to him. "This war will be a great opportunity for us. None of the nations will keep their jinchuuriki out of the war, and it will allow us the opportunity to secure them while they are out in the field."

"I agree. Things will be easier for us in the near future. It was a good thing you notified the Raikage of Konoha's weakness. Your info to Danzo also made Konoha weaker as well." Pein's assessment was sound. Tobi grinned. Pein didn't know how the man had all the information he was privy to, but it spoke of something forbidden, even to them.

"I should mention that Haruno seems to possess Mokuton. She does not have control over it currently, but she did kill the Raikage with it when he killed Tsunade," Zetsu said. Black Zetsu glanced at Tobi.

" **If she procreated with the youngest Uchiha, it would be the first time the Uchiha and the Senju bloodlines have united since the Rikudo Sennin.** " Tobi scoffed slightly, his lone Sharingan spinning menacingly.

"That would be years down the line. We do not have to worry about that, our plan will be complete before then. You say the Uzumaki used the Hiraishin?" Zetsu simply nodded. "It seems as though the Kyuubi will have to be handled by you personally," Tobi directed at Pein. Yahiko's body grunted slightly.

"Can the statue be complete with only half of the Kyuubi's chakra?" Pein asked, and Tobi nodded. "If Haruno can master Mokuton, she will be most difficult to battle. We should make an effort to split up this Team 7 so we can focus on each one individually. Uzumaki has the potential to master the Kyuubi, unlike Haruno, but such a thing is likely very far off. Until he does, he is the much easier target."

"Don't forget that we need to collect the biju in order. Jiraiya will not keep the Ichibi jinchuriki for long, only long enough to hammer out a forceful alliance between Suna and Konoha. We should target him once he is released. We cannot wait much longer. If we stall for too long, Team 7 will be unbeatable, even by the legendary Rinnegan." Tobi's eye caught the purple of the Rinnegan, and Pein frowned.

"Team 7, Konoha, and the world shall know pain. As soon as the Ichibi's jinchuriki is released from Konoha, have Sasori and Deidara take them. Sasori's new puppet should prove very useful against him."

Tobi grinned. He had to thank Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura for allowing the memories from his future to transplant to the past.

-RB-

Sakura sat in her hospital bed, under ANBU guard. She stared out the window, brooding on the events of the recent past. She had never been one for brooding, although she had brooded during Naruto's training trip on Sasuke's absence and subsequent betrayal of the village. She wasn't a stranger to the activity, just not as intimately familiar with it as some, like Kakashi and the Sasuke of her original timeline.

Sakura had never known loss like this. Others had lost around her, and she had been sad for them, but no one close to her had ever passed away until the end, and then she didn't have time to process it. She flexed her fingers, watching the flower in her room bloom brilliantly and then wilt. Mokuton was the last thing she expected to have. She had to learn to use it. If she did, she would be a much bigger help in the war to come.

Sakura turned to the door as three distinctive knocks sounded out.

"Come in." The door opened to reveal Naruto and the rest of the rookies, excluding Sasuke. They piled into the room, surrounding her bed. The ANBU outside hadn't reacted. Sakura remembered Jiraiya had assimilated the remains of ROOT into the ANBU program, doing some fancy seal work to switch the target of the loyalty seals to himself. She wondered if the ANBU guarding her was once a ROOT member.

"How are you doing, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, sitting on the side of her bed. At one point, she might have minded his over-familiarity, but these days, Sasuke and Naruto were basically her little brothers that she needed to protect.

"Half the village hates me for something I couldn't control, my master was killed in battle, and our village was almost destroyed. A woman who had become a second mother to me died as well. How do you think I'm doing, Naruto?" Sakura snapped at him, and then immediately felt bad. "I'm sorry. It was just a question."

"It's a pretty impressive tree you made, Sakura. I'm glad Hokage-sama decided to leave as a monument to our losses, it would have been troublesome to try to remove." Sakura chuckled at Shikamaru's comment, noting how typical Shikamaru it was.

"It's really pretty, too! It's been in constant bloom since you made it. Some say that when it produces fruit, the cherries will be the size of our fists," Ino said with a squeal. She loved flowers and pretty things. Sakura smiled slightly at this. It was good to know that something good came out of all of this.

"So, how did you manage getting Mokuton? No one's had that since the Shodiame, not even his direct line," Hinata asked. Since their battle, she had been more cordial toward Sakura. Sakura knew that Hinata would never be friends with her, but they could be polite toward one another.

"I am descended from the Senju. Maybe it was just a lucky instance of good genetics. I've always been good with plants, so I guess it shouldn't have been a surprise." Naruto nodded his agreement.

"I remember when I first saw you before we became friends, and you would make the flowers at the park dance and sway. It was only once you joined the academy that you stopped doing things like that," Naruto said with a frown. Sakura saw Shikamaru's eyes flash slightly, a look of recognition coming over his face. He stared at Sakura in shock, and Sakura suddenly saw a lot of her timeline's Shikamaru shining through the younger face of his counterpart.

"Eh, I didn't think making flowers move would be very useful as a shinobi skill back then. Guess I was really wrong." Sakura had become adept at lying about these kinds of things. She wondered what this timeline's Sakura would have done if she had not been destroyed by the timeline seal. She might have become a prodigy in her own right, unlocking Mokuton and becoming Sasuke's rival, as Senju and Uchiha had been for generations.

Her father had been surprised when she had made friends with Sasuke. Like the Uchiha and the Hyuuga, the Uchiha and the Haruno clans had been rivals, although it was more of a competition than any sort of dislike. As her mother had said, it had been about pride rather than any grievances. Perhaps, had the Uchiha clan survived and not tried to overthrow Konoha, Sakura and Sasuke would have been raised as natural rivals.

"So, I guess we are going to war," Kiba said. He looked terrified at the subject. Like him, many here had grown up with stories of the third World War, and the horrors their parents had seen during it. Sakura had only to look at Kakashi to see what war could do to someone, especially her timeline's Kakashi, who had taken three years to really warm up to Naruto and herself because he was afraid they would die.

"Yes. I can't promise that it will end easily, but I will do everything I can to protect all of you. I do have suggestions for those who have relied on your clan techniques up until now; learn some elemental jutsu, work on your taijutsu, and learn to, at least, defend against genjutsu. Any weaknesses in your style might be why you lose a fight. Losing a fight could mean you die, or your friends die, or your village is destroyed." Sakura shuddered slightly at the memories of Konoha burning. "We believe in the Will of Fire. We will not let those jealous of us tear our lives down." Naruto patted Sakura's leg as she spoke, and she glanced at him, seeing his bright smile.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan! None of us will die!" Naruto said brightly, and Sakura smiled at him. In her mind, though, only one phrase could be heard.

Their naivety will be their demise.

-RB-

Sasuke, Kakashi, and Itachi visited the next day. Sakura had heard that Itachi and Honour had come to the defense of the village, but it was strange seeing the two brothers standing next to one another. In Kakashi's arms was Satoko, her onyx eyes shining brightly as she peered at Sakura's pink hair. Mirai had been enamored with her pink hair as well. Perhaps it was destined to be a marvel for children, especially since she was the only one in the village with pink hair. Sakura smiled at the little girl, and Kakashi deposited her into Sakura's arms.

"Hello, Sakura. The nurse told me you would be here until tomorrow for stressing your chakra coils," Kakashi said, a little orange book appearing in his hand. Sakura nodded, still smiling at Satoko as the baby grabbed her finger and held it tightly.

"I apparently pumped chakra into that tree until I almost died of chakra exhaustion." Sasuke looked annoyed at this.

"You worried me. Don't do that again," he grumbled. Sakura laughed lightly at his expression. Itachi smiled behind him.

"Hello, Haruno-san. I hear you dealt a pretty serious blow to Kumogakure." Sakura agreed quietly. It hadn't been worth it, to her. Perhaps Killer Bee would be made Raikage next, and she knew he would be out vengeance either way.

"I never expected you to return to the village, Itachi." The man simply shrugged.

"I couldn't let the village be destroyed. Although I never thought I would return so soon." Satoko giggled slightly as she put a piece of Sakura's hair in her mouth, sucking on the pink strands. Kakashi handed a paper to Sakura suddenly.

"Mikoto and I never came to the decision, figuring that Satoko would always have her mother since Mikoto was retired and not in danger, but I've decided now. Sakura, will you be Satoko's godmother?" Sakura's mouth fell open as she stared in shock. It was not something she would have ever guessed would have been asked of her.

"But I'm only 13. I don't know anything about caring for children." Itachi chuckled slightly.

"You do not have to worry. It is pretty much a formality. Satoko will only come to you should Kakashi, Sasuke, and myself all fall in battle. But this war has a great possibility of taking some of us, and we would all have some peace of mind if you accepted. I have this feeling that, even should all of us fall, you will be the last standing." Sakura glanced at Sasuke, who nodded slightly. Kakashi gave her a knowing look as well. Sakura knew she could easily care for a child, but she felt as though accepting this would doom all three of the men in her room.

"Fine. But if any of you die, I'm bringing you back and kicking your ass! Shannaro!" Sakura took the paper and signed it, laughing with all three of them.

"I have a request as well, Haruno-san." Sakura glanced up at Itachi, wondering what the man could want. "Sasuke has recently unlocked his Mangekyou Sharingan, and you know I have my own. However, some of the things on the Uchiha tablet lead me to believe that trading our eyes would allow us to use the Mangekyou's techniques without negative effects. As soon as you are recovered, we would like you to perform the surgery." Sakura remembered when Sasuke showed up with his Eternal Mangekyou in the previous timeline. She couldn't deny the doujutsu's power.

"Ok. Three people with Eternal Mangekyou will certainly make things easy for us." Sasuke frowned at this.

"Who is the third? And how did you know it was called Eternal Mangekyou?" Sakura blinked, willing the need to curse herself for letting that slip away.

"I have been in contact with Honour, Itachi's partner. She has the Eternal Mangekyou. She explained the eyes to me." Itachi's eyes flashed a red for a moment, and she knew he could see through her lie. He didn't say anything, however, and Sasuke seemed to accept that for now.

"After this procedure is complete and we recover, I will be taking Sasuke to a secret Uchiha hideout to train our new abilities," Itachi explained. Sakura nodded. It made sense; she needed to something similar with Yamato to learn Mokuton. "Hokage-sama inferred that we won't be declaring war immediately. We will need to rebuild our defenses and focus on training the current generation for war. Fortunately, the havoc we inflicted on Kumo's forces will cause them to be forced to rebuild as well. There is going to be a period of tension before the war actually breaks out."

"I can only hope that we will come out victorious. You and I both know that the real enemy lurks in the shadows, and will probably use this war for his own benefits." Itachi nodded, although Sasuke and Kakashi looked confused at this.

"Yes. We must be wary, especially you, Haruno-san. Madara will be after the Kyuubi, and he will not limit his hunt to Naruto-kun." Sakura sighed, and nodded. She would have to have Naruto learn sage mode from the toads soon. His progress on seals would have to wait.

"Indeed. Don't worry, I will be ready. I will not allow them to hurt my friends ever again."

-END-

So Tobi got some memories as well. Things will go wildly AU from here. There is also be a time skip coming up in the near future. Maybe in the next five chapters or so. I haven't quite decided yet.

Please Read and Review.

NOTICE:

There will be a temporary Hiatus of this fic while I rewrite most of the first ten chapters. Please be patient with me and I promise the story will be much, MUCH better. Not so many things will come out of left field.

I will also add or change some minor parts in the other chapters as well, so it might be worth it to reread from the beginning.


End file.
